Reading Blood Promise
by Bookworm695
Summary: The characters locked a house/apartment, mailed the Vampire Academy books and forced to read them. Specifically, reading Blood Promise.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Richelle Mead owns these Characters, I just love them. :) 3

Prologue:

It was the fourth book and I hated what was about to come. Dimitri and I had had a long discussion about insisting that we skip this one. Admittedly I'd peeked, the fourth book began with me going to Russia and ended with me coming home and receiving a package. It described in detail the worst point in mine and Dimitri's lives and neither of us wanted the group to know what had happened in Russia. However, both for very different reasons. Dimitri of course was worried they would hate him. He thought they wouldn't be so quick to forgive as I had. My reasons were slightly more… prideful. I didn't want my friends and family to hear that I hadn't fought against him. I didn't want anyone to know I had let myself be used as a blood bag. I also didn't want everyone to know that I'd failed in my training. I'd hesitated. It was true, I'd hesitated because it was the love of my life, but still. I'd failed the most important test. In addition to all this, I, personally, didn't want to remember how I'd abandoned Lissa and how she'd almost died at the hands of Avery because of it. Yeah. This book was screwed up.

The morning we all gathered in the all too familiar study, Dimitri and I layer out all the reasons we didn't want to read this one and since ultimately, it was in my point of view, it was within my rights. We didn't give them specifics, only that it was a particularly difficult time and there were reasons I'd never told them about it. I begged them to understand however, they didn't. They disagreed. None of them knew what they were saying. They couldn't begin to imagine what this book held. It was Christian that had the only defence against our own, "The note says we must read all the books Rose," I had to swallow my anger so I didn't punch him. "We have to assume they can, I donno, see us. Who ever this RM is- they'll know if we skip one."

"Screw the note!" I said angrily.

"He's right," Lissa agreed. She walked up to me and placed her hands on my shoulders, "No matter what is in those pages- you got through it Rose, you're here."

I didn't know what to say, I just looked at her, silently pleading. It was Dimitri who spoke, "We can read it." He said it uncharacteristically quiet. Lissa dropped her hands so I could turn to him, "What?"

"Rose," He said taking my hand, "Do you remember what you said a few nights ago?"

I racked my brain but couldn't come up with anything, "No?"

A half smile played on his lips, "You said you kinda liked having everything out in the open. Our lives have been so full of secrets- this could be a good thing." I wasn't convinced. The only thing this would bring was horror and pain.

"Please?" He whispered gently, "I want them to know."

I hesitated, wondering if it was really true. It was. I could see it in his eyes. He wanted them to know what he was like. It was a weight he'd been carrying for a long time. In the ally he'd cried to me that I was the only one who understood what he had been, he needed to know that they could forgive him too but first they needed to know what they were forgiving. Ugh. I sighed and nodded. "Fine. Lets get this over with, hand me the book."

I gave Dimitri a peck on the cheek before seating myself next to him, snuggling into his side. He wrapped his arm around me and stroked my arm gently. Lissa took her spot next to Christian. Eddie, Jill, Mia, Abe and my mother took theirs. And Adrian sprawled in the middle of the floor, one arm over his eyes blocking out the light, clearly overcoming a hangover. I flipped to the first page,

**Prologue**

I read,

**Once when I was in ninth grade, I had to write a paper on a poem. One of the lines was, "If your eyes weren't open, you wouldn't know the difference between dreaming and waking." It hadn't meant much to me at the time. After all, there'd been a guy in the class that I liked, so how could I be expected to pay attention to literary analysis? Now, three years later, I understood the poem perfectly.**

Not exactly a cheery beginning…

**Because lately, my life really did seem like it was on the precipice of being a dream. There were days I thought I'd wake up and discover that recent events in my life hadn't actually happened. Surely I must be a princess in an enchanted sleep. Any day now, this dream-no, nightmare would end, and I'd get my prince and happy ending.**

Dimitri squeezed my shoulder and whispered in my ear, "Sorry I took so long."

His Russian accent caressed my skin, I smiled, "Better late than never."

**But there was no happy ending to be found, at least not in the foreseeable future. And my prince? Well, that was a long story. My prince had been turned into a vampire-a Strigoi, to be specific. In my world, there are two kinds of vampires who exist in secrecy from humans.**

"Do we _have _to go through this every time, we live in this world too. We know." Adrian groaned. I'll admit, the recaps really weren't necessary.

**The Moroi are living vampires, good vampires who wield elemental magic and don't kill when seeking the blood they need to survive. Strigoi are undead vampires, immortal and twisted, who kill when they feed. Moroi are born. Strigoi are made-forcibly or by choice-through evil means.**

**And Dimitri, the guy I loved,**

I snuggled closer to him.

**had been made a Strigoi against his will. He'd been turned during a battle, an epic rescue mission that I'd been part of as well. Strigoi had kidnapped Moroi and dhampirs from the school I attended, and we'd set out with others to save them. Dhampirs are half vampire and half-human-gifted with human strength and hardiness, and Moroi reflexes and senses. Dhampirs train to become guardians, the elite bodyguards who protect Moroi. That's what I am. That's what Dimitri had been.**

**After his conversion, the rest of the Moroi world had considered him dead. And to a certain extent, he was. Those who were turned Strigoi lost all sense of the goodness and life they'd had before. Even if they hadn't turned by choice, it didn't matter. They would still become evil and cruel, just like all Strigoi. The person they'd been was gone, and honestly, it was easier to imagine them moving on to heaven or the next life than to picture them out stalking the night and taking victims. But I hadn't been able to forget Dimitri, or accept that he was essentially dead. He was the man I loved, the man with whom I'd been so perfectly in sync that it was hard to know where I ended and he began. My heart refused to let him go even if he was technically a monster, he was still out there somewhere. I also hadn't forgotten a conversation he and I had once had. We'd both agreed that we'd rather be dead-truly dead-than walk the world as Strigoi.**

"I hadn't realized you remembered that…" Dimitri said, lost in thought. I nodded but kept reading,

**And once I'd had my mourning time for the goodness he'd lost, I'd decided I had to honor his wishes. Even if he no longer believed in them. I had to find him. I had to kill him and free his soul from that dark, unnatural state. I knew it was what the Dimitri I had loved would have wanted. Killing Strigoi isn't easy, though. They're insanely fast and strong. They have no mercy. I'd killed a number of them already-pretty crazy for someone who was freshly eighteen. And I knew taking on Dimitri would be my greatest challenge, both physically and emotionally.**

"It was." I stated solemnly.

**In fact, the emotional consequences had kicked in as soon as I made my decision. Going after Dimitri had meant doing a few life-altering things (and that wasn't even counting the fact that fighting him could very likely result in the loss of my life).**

Lissa sighed sadly, "And you still went…" She understood to a degree that this was something I had needed to do but I know she wished I hadn't left her in the process. I guess hearing that I knew I might not come back resurfaced some of that anger.

**I was still in school, only a handful of months away from graduating and becoming a full-fledged guardian. Every day I stuck around at St. Vladimir's Academy-a remote, protected school for Moroi and dhampirs-meant one more day was going by in which Dimitri was still out there, living in the state he'd never wanted. I loved him too much to allow that. So I'd had to leave school early and go out among humans, abandoning the world I'd lived in nearly my entire life.**

Since reuniting, Dimitri and I had talked a lot about why I'd hunted him down and I'd told him something similar along those lines. His face had been pained and proud. He'd thanked me and kissed me. Of course, my reply to that was, "You realize I failed, right?" He pulled back, a mix of amusement and the pain he always got when thinking of that part of his life on his face. "But you'd been willing to risk your life for me." He hesitated slightly, "Well, actually, that is exactly what we'd wanted to avoid…" We both thought that through for about a moment. Yeah… I'd put him before my charge. Whoops? "Still, you loved me enough to do what you did… thank you." He kissed me again and I couldn't remember us doing much talking after that. I smiled remembering the events of that night. It was a good night.

**Leaving had also meant abandoning one other thing-or rather, a person: my best friend, Lissa, also known as Vasilisa Dragomir. Lissa was Moroi, the last in a royal line. I'd been slated to be her guardian when we graduated, and my decision to hunt Dimitri had pretty much destroyed that future with her. I'd had no choice but to leave her.**

Lissa grumbled, "Theres always a choice." and I felt slightly irritated when my Mother nodded in agreement.

"Hey, I didn't doom our future completely!" I argued, pointing out the fact that I was, in fact, her guardian.

"You were still prepared to give me up completely then!" She retorted, pointing at the book in my hand. She had a point.

"She's got you there, little dhampir." Adrian chuckled.

I suppressed the urge to kick his foot that lay a few inches from my own.

"Alls forgiven?" I asked Lissa. She sighed but smiled, "Yeah, you're forgiven."

**Aside from our friendship, Lissa and I had a unique connection. Each Moroi specializes in a type of elemental magic-earth, air, water, or fire. Until recently, we'd believed there were only those four elements. Then we'd discovered a fifth: spirit.**

**That was Lissa's element, and with so few spirit users in the world, we hardly knew anything about it. For the most part, it seemed to be tied to psychic powers. Lissa wielded amazing compulsion-the ability to exert her will on almost anyone. She could also heal, and that's where things got a little strange between us. You see, I technically died in the car accident that killed her family. Lissa had brought me back from the world of the dead without realizing it, creating a psychic bond between us. Ever since then, I was always aware of her presence and thoughts. I could tell what she was thinking and feel when she was in trouble. We had also recently discovered I could see ghosts and spirits who hadn't yet left this world, something I found disconcerting and struggled to block out. The whole phenomenon was called being shadow-kissed.**

It sounded messed up but I missed being shadow kissed. Well, no. I hated it really… but I wouldn't mind being able to sense Strigoi again… and the bond. Most of the time now I felt handicapped. I was still, after months, adjusting to not being able to read her.

"I miss the bond." Lissa surprised us all.

I was about to ask why but stopped myself. I knew. I may not be able to actually hear the thoughts but I knew deep down she had liked the bond. She liked knowing I was always there looking out for her. And, as this book would prove- it came in handy.

**Our shadow-kissed bond made me the ideal choice to protect Lissa, since I would instantly know if she was in trouble. I'd promised to protect her my whole life, but then Dimitri-tall, gorgeous, fierce Dimitri-had changed it all.**

Lissa took a pillow and playfully shot it out at Dimitri, "It's all your fault." Lissa wasn't exactly good at sports and she proved it when the pillow landed on my face. Well, almost. Dimitri caught most of it- blocking it from my face.

"Hey, watch it." I said.

Lissa only giggled, a little embarrassed, "Sorry, Rose."

**I'd been faced with that horrible choice: continue to protect Lissa or free Dimitri's soul. Choosing between them had broken my heart, leaving an ache in my chest and tears in my eyes. My parting with Lissa had been agonizing. We'd been best friends since kindergarten, and my departure was a shock for both of us. To be fair, she'd never seen it coming. I'd kept my romance with Dimitri a secret. He was my instructor, seven years older than me, and had been assigned to be her guardian as well. As such, he and I had tried hard to fight our attraction,**

"Not hard enough," my father growled. Both my parents had been rather quiet since reading about their daughter's sex life in the last book. I ignored him.

**knowing we had to focus on Lissa more than anything else and that we'd also get in a fair amount of trouble for our student-teacher relationship.**

**But being kept from Dimitri-even though I'd agreed to it-had caused me to build up a lot of unspoken resentment toward Lissa. I probably should have talked to her about it**

"Yes, you really should have!" She glared at me. I grimaced.

**and explained my frustration over having my entire life planned out. It didn't seem fair, somehow, that while Lissa was free to live and love however she wanted, I would always have to sacrifice my own happiness to ensure that she was protected. **

"I don't want that…" The glare had fallen from her face and she was now looking at her hands.

"Lissa, don't worry about it. I am happy. This book is set almost a year ago." I didn't continue to read until Lissa looked up at me. God, I hope that it doesn't go on about this.

**She was my best friend, though, and I couldn't bear the thought of upsetting her. Lissa was particularly vulnerable because using spirit had the nasty side effect of driving people insane. So I'd sat on my feelings until they finally exploded, and I left the Academy-and her-behind for good.**

"Not for good. never for good." I interjected.

**One of the ghosts I'd seen-Mason, a friend who had been killed by Strigoi-had told me Dimitri had returned to his homeland: Siberia. Mason's soul had found peace and left this world shortly thereafter, without giving me any other clues about where in Siberia Dimitri might have gone. So I'd had to set out there blindly, braving a world of humans and a language I didn't know in order to fulfill the promise I'd made to myself.**

**After a few weeks on my own, I had finally made it to Saint Petersburg.**

Dimitri stiffened. Apparently I'd left that part out when I told him before. The thought of being so close to him sent chills up my spine. If I had found him then my life would have played out very differently. I had no doubt in my mind that I would have died. I would have never met his family, Sydney… hell, I wouldn't have met my own father.

"You didn't tell me you were there that early…" Dimitri's voice sounded like he was having a similar train of thought.

I answered him honestly, "I wasn't exactly concerned with where I was really. As long as it was Russia it was where I needed to be." He locked eyes with me and I could see how hard this book was going to be. I was tempted to close it right then. Dimitri would never publicly… well, almost publicly, admit to being afraid of a book. Even if that book described him torturing and almost killing his girl friend.

**I was still looking, still floundering-but determined to find him, even though I dreaded it at the same time. Because if I really did pull this insane plan off, if I actually managed to kill the man I loved, it would mean Dimitri would truly be gone from the world. And I honestly wasn't sure I could go on in a world like that.**

"I don't think I could live in a world without you either." Dimitri whispered in my ear.

**None of it seems real. Who knows? Maybe it isn't.**

"I wish," I muttered.

**Maybe it's actually happening to someone else. Maybe it's something I imagined. Maybe soon I'm going to wake up and find everything fixed with Lissa and Dimitri. We'll all be together, and he'll be there to smile and hold me and tell me everything's going to be okay.**

I felt Dimitri pull me closer, tightening his arm around me. He whispered something in Russian. Despite not speaking the language I understood the message and I smiled.

**Maybe all of this really has been a dream.**

**But I don't think so.**

"There we go. We've finished the prologue." I suppressed a grimace. This was going to be a long book.


	2. Author's Note

So, Hello.

I know there are the first three books already out- either finished or started so I didn't simply want to redo what they have done. But I did want the opportunity to try myself. My story does not line up directly with theirs, I don't want to step on their toes or anything like that, just so thats out there.

This is my first attempt at a fanfiction, or story of any kind- really. So, I would love feed back and if you guys think this is going okay let me know... yeah.

Hopefully you guys like it.

Thanks.


	3. Chapter 2

Thank you Smile'LifesTooShort and IchBinMise for reviewing!

Disclaimer, I do not own these Characters, Richelle Mead does.

"Who wants to take Chapter 1?" I asked looking at each face.

"I will." Lissa said, reaching for the book.

I leaned forward and handed her the book then returned to my spot beside Dimitri, snuggling into his shoulder and lacing my fingers with his. I caught his eye and gave him a small grin, he returned it and pressed a kiss into my hair.

Lissa began,

**Chapter One**

**I was being followed.**

"Yikes." Adrian said shifting on the floor. I grimaced at him.

**It was kind of ironic, considering the way I'd been following others for the last few weeks. At least it wasn't a Strigoi. I would have already known.**

"I miss being able to do that. Made life easier." I grumbled. My mother rolled her eyes, mumbling something that couldn't have been complementary.

**A recent effect of my being shadow-kissed was the ability to sense the undead-through bouts of nausea, unfortunately. Still, I appreciated my body's early warning system and was relieved my stalker tonight wasn't an insanely fast, insanely vicious vampire. I'd fought enough of those recently and kind of wanted a night off.**

Lissa paused looking at me, "How many did you kill?"

I shrugged, "I don't remember."

"So you never got the marks for them?"

"No, not without records or witnesses." I hadn't really thought about getting marks for those kills. Guardians didn't want to encourage young guardians to go out on hunting sprees for the marks.

Sydney spoke for the first time, "I took records."

I shook my head, "It's not a big deal." Something in my voice told them it was final.

**I had to guess my follower was a dhampir like me, probably one from the club. Admittedly, this person was moving a little less stealthily than I would have expected of a dhampir.**

I glanced at Sydney, grinning. She looked at me confused then glanced at the book.

"Is this me?" She asked.

I nodded.

Adrian sat up slightly leaning on his elbows, "You mean this is how Sage come into our little group?"

I chose not to mention that Sydney was being used as a pawn for Abe, "Yeah, she thought following a lethal guardian would be a good idea." I kept my voice light and teasing, giving her a pointed look. She rolled her eyes, "Lethal, yes. Guardian, not at this point."

"Youch, below the belt." I said chuckling with everyone else.

She really was getting more comfortable around us.

**Footsteps were clearly audible against the pavement of the dark side streets I was traveling on, and once, I'd caught a brief glimpse of a shadowy figure. Still, considering my rash actions tonight, a dhampir was the most likely culprit.**

Lissa sighed, "What did you do?"

"You'll probably find out."

**It had all started earlier at the Nightingale. That wasn't the club's true name, only a translation. Its real name was something Russian that was beyond my ability to pronounce. **

Dimitri nodded, saying what I could only guess was the clubs name.

**Back in the U.S., the Nightingale was well known among rich Moroi who traveled abroad, and now I could understand why. No matter what time of the day it was, people at the Nightingale dressed like they were at an imperial ball. And, well, the whole place actually kind of looked like something from the old, royal days of Russia, with ivory walls covered in gold scroll-work and molding. It reminded me a lot of the WinterPalace, a royal residence left over from when Russia had still been ruled by czars. I'd toured it upon first arriving in Saint Petersburg.**

"It was beautiful." I whispered. Dimitri smiled.

**At the Nightingale, elaborate chandeliers filled with real candles glittered in the air, lighting up the gold decor so that even in dim lighting, the whole establishment sparkled. There was a large dining room filled with velvet-draped tables and booths, as well as a lounge and bar area where people could mingle. Late in the evening, a band would set up in there, and couples would hit the dance floor.**

**I hadn't bothered with the Nightingale when I arrived in the city a couple weeks ago. I'd been arrogant enough to think I could find Moroi right away who could direct me to Dimitri's hometown in Siberia. **

"It's a lot easier said than done."

**With no other clues about where Dimitri had gone in Siberia, heading to the town he'd grown up in had been my best chance of getting closer to him. Only, I didn't know where it was, which was why I was trying to find Moroi to help me. There were a number of dhampir towns and communes in Russia but hardly any in Siberia, which made me believe most local Moroi would be familiar with his birthplace. Unfortunately, it turned out that the Moroi who lived in human cities were very good at keeping themselves hidden. I checked what I thought were likely Moroi hangouts, only to come up empty. And without those Moroi, I had no answers.**

**So, I'd begun staking out the Nightingale, which wasn't easy. It was hard for an eighteen-year-old girl to blend into one of the city's most elite clubs. I'd soon found that expensive clothes and large enough tips went a long way toward helping me get by. The waitstaff had come to know me, and if they thought my presence was strange, they didn't say so and were happy to give me the corner table I always asked for. I think they thought I was the daughter of some tycoon or politician. Whatever my background, I had the money to be there, which was all they cared about.**

**Even so, my first few nights there had been discouraging. The Nightingale might have been an elite hangout for Moroi, but it was also frequented by humans. And at first, it had seemed those were the club's only patrons. Crowds grew larger as the night progressed, and in peering through the packed tables and people lingering at the bar, I'd seen no Moroi. The most notable thing I'd seen was a woman with long, platinum-blond hair walking into the lounge with a group of friends. For a moment, my heart had stopped. The woman had her back to me, but she had looked so much like Lissa that I'd felt certain I'd been tracked down. The weird thing was, I didn't know whether to feel excited or horrified. I missed Lissa so, so much-yet at the same time, I didn't want her involved in this dangerous trip of mine. **

"I wish I would have been with you." Lissa murmured.

I shook my head, "No. It was too dangerous."

She didn't say anything but even without the bond I knew she didn't really believe me. Maybe reading this book would be a good thing, Lissa might finally accept that I had to do this on my own.

**Then the woman had turned around. It wasn't Lissa. She wasn't even a Moroi, just a human. Slowly, my breathing returned to normal.**

**Finally, a week or so ago, I'd had my first sighting. A group of Moroi women had come in for a late lunch, accompanied by two guardians, one male and one female, who sat dutifully and quietly at the table as their charges gossiped and laughed over afternoon champagne. Dodging those guardians had been the trickiest part. For those who knew what to look for, Moroi were easy to spot: taller than most humans, pale, and uber-slim.**

**They also had a certain funny way of smiling and holding their lips in order to hide their fangs. Dhampirs, with our human blood, appeared... well, human.**

**That was certainly how I looked to the untrained human eye. I was about five foot seven, and whereas Moroi tended to have unreal, runway-model bodies, mine was athletically built and curvy in the chest. Genetics from my unknown Turkish father **

"Not unknown for long," Abe said smiling. I really didn't know how to respond to my father… He'd just kinda appeared in my life and then, well, didn't leave.

**and too much time in the sun had given me a light tan that paired well with long, nearly black hair and equally dark eyes. But those who had been raised in the Moroi world could spot me as a dhampir through close examination. I'm not sure what it was-maybe some instinct that drew us to our own kind and recognized the mix of Moroi blood.**

The others nodded. We just knew.

**Regardless, it was imperative that I appear human to those guardians, so I didn't raise their alarms. I sat across the room in my corner, picking over caviar and pretending to read my book. For the record, I thought caviar was disgusting, but it seemed to be everywhere in Russia, particularly in the nice places.**

Dimitri let out a small chuckle.

**That and borscht-a kind of beet soup. I almost never finished my food at the Nightingale and would ravenously hit McDonald's afterward, **

Dimitri's soft chuckle turned to laughter with the rest of the group. All of us had the same mental image. I suppressed the urge to elbow Dimitri in the ribs.

**even though the Russian McDonald's restaurants were a bit different from what I'd grown up with in the U.S. Still, a girl had to eat.**

**So it became a test of my skill, studying the Moroi when their guardians weren't watching. Admittedly, the guardians had little to fear during the day, since there would be no Strigoi out in the sun. But it was in guardian nature to watch everything, and their eyes continually swept the room.**

**I'd had the same training and knew their tricks, so I managed to spy without detection.**

I smiled. "I'm such a bad ass." Dimitri smirked but knew better than to say anything.

**The women came back a lot, usually late in the afternoon. St. Vladimir's ran on a nocturnal schedule, but Moroi and dhampirs living out among humans either ran on a daylight schedule or something in between. For a while, I'd considered approaching them-or even their guardians.**

**Something held me back. If anyone would know where a town of dhampirs lived, it would be male Moroi. Many of them visited dhampir towns in hopes of scoring easy dhampir girls. So I promised myself I'd wait another week to see if any guys came by. If not, I would see what kind of information the women could give me.**

"And I assumed your little trip was full of adventure." Adrian groaned, "All you did for weeks was sit in a club." He scoffed. This time I did kick him.

**At last, a couple days ago, two Moroi guys had started showing up. They tended to come later in the evening, when the real partiers arrived. The men were about ten years older than me and strikingly handsome, **

Both Adrian and Dimitri gave me a raised eyebrow. I shrugged.

**wearing designer suits and silk ties. They carried themselves like powerful, important people, and I would have bet good money that they were royal-particularly since each one came with a guardian. The guardians were always the same, young men who wore suits to blend in but still carefully watched the room with that clever guardian nature.**

**And there were women-always women. The two Moroi were terrible flirts, continually scoping out and hitting on every woman in sight-even humans. But they never went home with any humans. That was a taboo still firmly ingrained in our world. Moroi had kept themselves separate from humans for centuries, fearing detection from a race that had grown so plentiful and powerful.**

**Still, that didn't mean the men went home alone. At some point in the evening, dhampir women usually showed up-different ones every night.**

**They'd come in wearing low-cut dresses and lots of makeup, drinking heavily and laughing at everything the guys said-which probably wasn't even that funny. The women always wore their hair down, but every once in a while, they'd shift their heads in a way that showed their necks, which were heavily bruised. They were blood whores, dhampirs who let Moroi drink blood during sex. That was also a taboo-though it still happened in secret.**

My moth shook her head. As a respected guardian she'd always had very strong opinions on Blood whores.

**I kept wanting to get one of the Moroi men alone, **

"Rose!" My mother exclaimed

"Relax mum," I tried to calm her, "I wanted to ask them about Baia."

**away from the watchful eyes of his guardians so that I could question him. But it was impossible.**

She still gave me a disapproving look.

**The guardians never left their Moroi unattended. I even attempted to follow them, but each time the group left the club, they'd almost immediately hop into a limousine-making it impossible for me to track them on foot. It was frustrating.**

**I finally decided tonight that I'd have to approach the whole group and risk detection by the dhampirs. I didn't know if anyone from back home was actually looking for me, **

"We wondered, but no… we weren't searching." Lissa said, ashamed. Christian pulled her closer and she kept reading, not meeting my eye. My best friend had so many conflicting views about this time in our life I would have to make sure she knew I didn't blame her or hate her- anything like that.

**or if the group would even care who I was. Maybe I just had too high an opinion of myself.**

Cristian took his opening, "Yes, you do." He half hid his words between coughs.

I caught his eye, "Sorry what was that?"

"Nothing, absolutely nothing." I almost got up but Dimitri was too fast, he had me by my waist and was pulling me back against him.

"Watch it Sparky." I threatened, my voice darker than I'd meant it. He visibly gulped. My point was made.

**It was definitely possible that no one was actually concerned about a runaway dropout. But if anyone was looking for me, my description had undoubtedly been circulated amongst guardians worldwide. Even though I was now eighteen, I wouldn't have put it past some of the people I knew to haul me back to the U.S.,**

I gave everyone in the room a pointed look, ending with Abe, "Even some I didn't know yet."

He gave me a grin.

** and there was no way I could return until I'd found Dimitri.**

**Then, just as I was considering my move on the group of Moroi, one of the dhampir women left the table to walk up to the bar. The guardians watched her, of course, but seemed confident about her safety and were more fixated on the Moroi. All this time, I'd been thinking Moroi men would be the best way to go to get information about a village of dhampirs and blood whores-but what better way to locate this place than by asking an actual blood whore?**

**I strolled casually from my table and approached the bar, like I too was going to get a drink. I stood by as the woman waited for the bartender and studied her in my periphery. She was blond and wore a long dress covered in silver sequins. I couldn't decide if it made my black satin sheath dress appear tasteful or boring. All of her movements-even the way she stood-were graceful, like a dancer's. The bartender was helping others, and I knew it was now or never. I leaned toward her.**

**"Do you speak English?"**

**She jumped in surprise and looked over at me. She was older than I'd expected, her age cleverly concealed by makeup. Her blue eyes assessed me quickly, recognizing me as a dhampir. "Yes," she said warily. Even the one word carried a thick accent.**

**"I'm looking for a town... a town where lots of dhampirs live, out in Siberia. Do you know what I'm talking about? I need to find it."**

**Again she studied me, and I couldn't read her expression. She might as well have been a guardian for all that her face revealed. Maybe she'd trained at one time in her life.**

**"Don't," she said bluntly. "Let it go." She turned away, her gaze back on the bartender as he made someone a blue cocktail adorned with cherries.**

**I touched her arm. "I have to find it. There's a man..." I choked on the word. So much for my cool interrogation. Just thinking about Dimitri made my heart stick in my throat.**

He cupped a hand on my cheek and gave me a small kiss. Anything more was interrupted by my father clearing his throat. I shoot him a glare as Lissa continued like nothing had happened.

** How could I even explain it to this woman? That I was following a long-shot clue, seeking out the man I loved most in the world-a man who had been turned into a Strigoi and who I now needed to kill? Even now, I could perfectly picture the warmth of his brown eyes and the way his hands used to touch me. **

Adrian made a gaging noise but I ignored him. Instead, I looked into Dimitri's eyes and we smiled.

**How could I do what I had crossed an ocean to do?**

**Focus, Rose. Focus.**

"Talking to yourself isn't good Rosie." Christian said in a baby voice.

I looked to Lissa, "Please hit him."

She did.

"Hey!" He yelped glaring at me as though I was the one who'd hit him.

"We agreed that we weren't going to call me Rosie anymore." My voice had started out light and sweet but by the end, it was a threat. I smiled at him.

Eddie looked away trying to hide his smile.

**The dhampir woman looked back at me. "He's not worth it," **

"Is too." I told the book.

**she said, mistaking my meaning. No doubt she thought I was a lovesick girl, chasing some boyfriend-which, I supposed, I kind of was. "You're too young... it's not too late for you to avoid all that." Her face might have been impassive, but there was sadness in her voice. "Go do something else with your life. Stay away from that place."**

**"You know where it is!" I exclaimed, too worked up to explain that I wasn't going there to be a blood whore. "Please-you have to tell me. I have to get there!"**

**"Is there a problem?"**

Eddie, Adrian and Christian smiled, "Busted."

**Both she and I turned and looked into the fierce face of one of the guardians. Damn. The dhampir woman might not be their top priority, but they would have noticed someone harassing her. The guardian was only a little older than me, and I gave him a sweet smile. I might not be spilling out of my dress like this other woman, but I knew my short skirt did great things for my legs. Surely even a guardian wasn't immune to that? Well, apparently he was.**

Adrian burst out laughing and Dimitri stiffened. I rolled my eyes and pushed Dimitri into the couch a little. We didn't need another brawl. I thought back to my Fathers little episode when Dimitri and I had been under the lust spell from Victor… Towards the end of the third book I sat in-between my parents, ready to grab whichever one decided to attack Dimitri. Eddie was instructed to grab one if they both flew off the handle. Fortunately, they covered their ears and went to their happy place.

** His hard expression showed that my charms weren't working. Still, I figured I might as well try my luck with him on getting intel.**

**"I'm trying to find a town in Siberia, a town where dhampirs live. Do you know it?"**

**He didn't blink. "No."**

**Wonderful. Both were playing difficult. "Yeah, well, maybe your boss does?" I asked demurely, hoping I sounded like an aspiring blood whore. If the dhampirs wouldn't talk, maybe one of the Moroi would. "Maybe he wants some company and would talk to me."**

**"He already has company," the guardian replied evenly. "He doesn't need any more."**

**I kept the smile on. "Are you sure?" I purred. "Maybe we should ask him."**

**"No," replied the guardian. In that one word, I heard the challenge and the command. Back off. He wouldn't hesitate to take on anyone he thought was a threat to his master-even a lowly dhampir girl. I considered pushing my case further but quickly decided to follow the warning and indeed back off.**

"Good." My mother said with a clenched jaw.

**I gave an unconcerned shrug. "His loss."**

**And with no other words, I walked casually back to my table, like the rejection was no big deal. All the while I held my breath, half-expecting the guardian to drag me out of the club by my hair. It didn't happen. Yet as I gathered my coat and set some cash on the table, I saw him watching me, eyes wary and calculating.**

**I left the Nightingale with that same nonchalant air, heading out toward the busy street. It was a Saturday night, and there were lots of other clubs and restaurants nearby. Partygoers filled the streets, some dressed as richly as the Nightingale's patrons; others were my age and dressed in casual wear. Lines spilled out of the clubs, dance music loud and heavy with bass. Glass-fronted restaurants showed elegant diners and richly set tables.**

Lissa chuckled, "Sounds like paradise for old Rose." I knew she meant it as a joke and I gave her a grin but really… it only reminded me of how much I'd changed. It would have been old Rose's paradise… This Rose? She was a shell with only one goal. Find Dimitri and kill him or, die trying.

**As I walked through the crowds, surrounded by Russian conversation, I resisted the urge to look behind me. I didn't want to raise any further suspicion if that dhampir was watching.**

**Yet when I turned down a quiet street that was a shortcut back to my hotel, I could hear the soft sounds of footsteps. I apparently had raised enough alarm that the guardian had decided to follow me. Well, there was no way I was going to let him get the drop on me. I might have been smaller than him-and wearing a dress and heels-but I had fought plenty of men, including Strigoi. I could handle this guy, especially if I used the element of surprise. After walking this neighborhood for so long, I knew it and its twists and turns well. I picked up my pace and darted around a few corners, one of which led me into a dark, deserted alley. Scary, yeah, but it made for a good ambush spot when I ducked into a doorway. I quietly stepped out of my high-heeled shoes. They were black with pretty leather straps but not ideal in a fight, unless I planned on gouging someone in the eye with a heel. Actually, not a bad idea. **

"Vicious Rose," Christian cringed.

I grinned at him in response.

Sydney nodded, "I really should have been more careful."

**But I wasn't quite that desperate. Without them, the pavement was cold beneath my bare feet since it had rained earlier in the day.**

**I didn't have to wait long. A few moments later, I heard the footsteps and saw my pursuer's long shadow appear on the ground, cast in the flickering light of a street lamp on the adjacent road. My stalker came to a stop, no doubt searching for me. Really, I thought, this guy was careless.**

**No guardian in pursuit would have been so obvious. He should have moved with more stealth and not revealed himself so easily. Maybe the guardian training here in Russia wasn't as good as what I'd grown up with. No, that couldn't be true. Not with the way Dimitri had dispatched his enemies. They'd called him a god at the Academy.**

I couldn't help but smile, remembering the first time I'd let that one slip. Dimitri chuckled too.

**My pursuer took a few more steps, and that's when I made my move. I leapt out, fists ready. "Okay," I exclaimed. "I only wanted to ask a few questions, so just back off or else-"**

**I froze. The guardian from the club wasn't standing there.**

**A human was.**

**A girl, no older than me. She was about my height, with cropped dark blond hair and a navy blue trench coat that looked expensive. Underneath it, I could see nice dress pants and leather boots that looked as pricey as the coat. More startling still was that I recognized her. I'd seen her twice at the Nightingale, talking to the Moroi men. I'd assumed she was just another of the women they liked to flirt with and had promptly dismissed her.**

Sydney gave me a look that said something like, "Jee, thanks." I shrugged. My logic was sound.

**After all, what use was a human to me?**

**Her face was partly covered in shadow, but even in poor lighting, I could make out her annoyed expression. That wasn't quite what I'd expected.**

**"It's you, isn't it?" she asked. Cue more shock. Her English was as American as my own. "You're the one who's been leaving the string of Strigoi bodies around the city. I saw you back in the club tonight and knew it had to be you."**

I smiled at her, "Because I look that badass?" She rolled her eyes.

**"I..." No other words formed on my lips. I had no idea how to respond. A human talking casually about Strigoi? It was unheard of. This was almost more astonishing than actually running into a Strigoi out here. I'd never experienced anything like this in my life. She didn't seem to care about my stupefied state.**

**"Look, you can't just do that, okay? Do you know what a pain in the ass it is for me to deal with? This internship is bad enough without you making a mess of it. The police found the body you left in the park, you know. You cannot even imagine how many strings I had to pull to cover that up."**

"Ugh," Sydney shuttered, putting a hand to her temple. "You really were a pain in my ass."

Every one laughed.

**"Who... who are you?" I asked at last. It was true. I had left a body in the park, but seriously, what was I supposed to do? Drag him back to my hotel and tell the bellhop my friend had had too much to drink? "Sydney," the girl said wearily. "My name's Sydney. I'm the Alchemist assigned here."**

**"The what?"**

"You would think once you drop out that they'd give you an information packet or something about this stuff." I said to no one in particular.

**She sighed loudly, and I was pretty sure she rolled her eyes. "Of course. That explains everything."**

**"No, not really," I said, finally regaining my composure. "In fact, I think you're the one who has a lot of explaining to do."**

**"And attitude too. Are you some kind of test they sent here for me? Oh, man. That's it."**

I smiled, "You really thought I was a test?"

She shrugged. "Every Guardian knows about Alchemists, Rose."

**I was getting angry now. I didn't like being chastised. I certainly didn't like being chastised by a human who made it sound like me killing Strigoi was a bad thing.**

**"Look, I don't know who you are or how you know about any of this, but I'm not going to stand here and-"**

**Nausea rolled over me and I tensed, my hand immediately going for the silver stake I kept in my coat pocket. Sydney still wore that annoyed expression, but it was mingled with confusion now at the abrupt change in my posture. She was observant, I'd give her that.**

Sydney shuttered thinking about what was about to happen. It would be interesting to read about this in her point of view. She would have seen me tense and go defensive. Then…

**"What's wrong?" she asked.**

**"You're going to have another body to deal with," I said, just as the Strigoi attacked her.**

She would have been attacked.

"Thats Chapter 1. Who's up next?" Lissa asked.

Adrian, who'd sat up and wasn't looking quite so intoxicated stuck out his hand for the book, "I will."


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer, Richelle Mead owns these characters. **

**Chapter 2**

**Going for her instead of me was bad form on the Strigoi's part.**

"Stupid Strigoi." I said smugly to the book.

Dimitri shook with a silent chuckle as every one else rolled their eyes.

** I was the threat; he should have neutralized me first. Our positioning had put Sydney in his way, however, so he had to dispatch her before he could get to me. He grabbed her shoulder, jerking her to him. He was fast-they always were-but I was on my game tonight.**

**A swift kick knocked him into a neighboring building's wall and freed Sydney from his grasp. He grunted on impact and slumped to the ground, stunned and surprised. It wasn't easy to get the drop on a Strigoi, not with their lightning-fast reflexes. Abandoning Sydney, he focused his attention on me, red eyes angry and lips curled back to show his fangs. He sprang up from his fall with that preternatural speed and lunged for me.**

Lissa shuttered.

**I dodged him and attempted a punch that he dodged in return. His next blow caught me on the arm, and I stumbled, just barely keeping my balance.**

Eddie and my mother looked at me, disapproving. So, I stuck my tongue out at them.

** My stake was still clutched in my right hand, but I needed an opening to hit his chest. A smart Strigoi would have angled himself in a way that ruined the line of sight to his heart. This guy was only doing a so-so job, and if I could stay alive long enough, I'd likely get an opening.**

**Just then, Sydney came up and hit him on the back. It wasn't a very strong blow, but it startled him. It was my opening. I sprinted as hard as I could, throwing my full weight at him. My stake pierced his heart as we slammed against the wall. It was as simple as that. The life-or undead life or whatever-faded away from him. He stopped moving. I jerked out my stake once I was certain he was dead and watched as his body crumpled to the ground.**

"Sydney's a bad ass." Adrian grinned.

**Just like with every Strigoi I'd killed lately, I had a momentary surreal feeling. What if this had been Dimitri? **

Dimitri squeezed my shoulder, comforting me.

**I tried to imagine Dimitri's face on this Strigoi, tried to imagine him lying before me. My heart twisted in my chest. For a split second, the image was there. Then-gone. This was just some random Strigoi.**

**I promptly shook the disorientation off and reminded myself that I had important things to worry about here. I had to check on Sydney. Even with a human, my protective nature couldn't help but kick in. "Are you okay?"**

**She nodded, looking shaken but otherwise unharmed. "Nice work," she said. She sounded as though she were forcibly trying to sound confident.**

Sydney gave a small nod.

**"I've never... I've never actually seen one of them killed..."**

**I couldn't imagine how she would have, but then, I didn't get how she knew about any of this stuff in the first place. She looked like she was in shock, so I took her arm and started to lead her away. "Come on, let's get out to where there's more people." Strigoi lurking near the Nightingale wasn't that crazy of an idea, the more I thought about it. What better place to stalk Moroi than at one of their hangouts? Though, hopefully, most guardians would have enough sense to keep their charges out of alleys like this.**

**The suggestion of departure snapped Sydney out of her daze. "What?" she exclaimed. "You're just going to leave him too?"**

**I threw up my hands. "What do you expect me to do? I guess I can move him behind those trash cans and then let the sun incinerate him. That's what I usually do."**

**"Right. And what if someone shows up to take out the trash? Or comes out of one of these back doors?"**

**"Well, I can hardly drag him off. Or set him on fire. A vampire barbecue would kind of attract some attention, don't you think?"**

I looked to Sydney, "What did you expect me to do with it?"

She rolled her eyes, "If I hadn't been there you would have called me or another Alchemist." Oh, right. I looked back to Adrian to keep reading and he gave me a grin that probably meant something like 'haha, she got you there.' I was glad he seemed happier, less mad at me but I could still see hardness in his eyes.

**Sydney shook her head in exasperation and walked over to the body. She made a face as she looked down at the Strigoi and reached into her large leather purse. From it, she produced a small vial. With a deft motion, she sprinkled the vial's contents over the body and then quickly stepped back.**

**Where the drops had hit his corpse, yellow smoke began to curl away. The smoke slowly moved outward, spreading horizontally rather than vertically until it cocooned the Strigoi entirely. Then it contracted and contracted until it was nothing but a fist-size ball. In a few seconds, the smoke drifted off entirely, leaving an innocuous pile of dust behind.**

Lissa looked at Sydney shocked, "What is that stuff?"

Sydney shrugged, "Just some chemical stuff."

**"You're welcome," said Sydney flatly, still giving me a disapproving look.**

**"What the hell was that?" I exclaimed.**

**"My job. Can you please call me the next time this happens?" She started to turn away.**

**"Wait! I can't call you-I have no idea who you are."**

**She glanced back at me and brushed blond hair out of her face. "Really? You're serious, aren't you? I thought you were all taught about us when you graduated."**

**"Oh, well. Funny thing... I kind of, uh, didn't graduate."**

**Sydney's eyes widened. "You took down one of those... things... but never graduated?"**

**I shrugged, and she remained silent for several seconds.**

**Finally, she sighed again and said, "I guess we need to talk."**

**Did we ever. Meeting her had to be the strangest thing that had happened to me since coming to Russia. I wanted to know why she thought I should have been in contact with her and how she'd dissolved that Strigoi corpse. And, as we returned to the busy streets and walked toward a cafe she liked, it occurred to me that if she knew about the Moroi world, there might be a chance she also knew where Dimitri's village was.**

**Dimitri. There he was again, popping back into my mind. I had no clue if he really would be lurking near his hometown, but I had nothing else to go on at this point. Again, that weird feeling came over me. My mind blurred Dimitri's face with that of the Strigoi I'd just killed: pale skin, red ringed eyes…**

I shivered involuntarily. Dimitri looked down at me, a deep sadness in his eyes. I squeezed his hand and smiled at him, "It's over." I whispered, trying to cheer him up.

**No, I sternly told myself. Don't focus on that yet. Don't panic. Until I faced Dimitri the Strigoi, I would gain the most strength from remembering the Dimitri I loved, with his deep brown eyes, warm hands, fierce embrace…**

That got me a genuine smile.

**"Are you okay... um, whatever your name is?"**

**Sydney was staring at me strangely, and I realized we'd come to a halt in front of a restaurant. I didn't know what look I wore on my face, but it must have been enough to raise even her attention. Until now, my impression as we walked had been that she wanted to speak to me as little as possible.**

"Or less." Sydney said with a smirk.

**"Yeah, yeah, fine," I said brusquely, putting on my guardian face. "And I'm Rose. Is this the place?"**

**It was. The restaurant was bright and cheery, albeit a far cry from the Nightingale's opulence. We slid into a black leather-by which I mean fake plastic leather-booth, and I was delighted to see the menu had both American and Russian food. The listings were translated into English, and I nearly drooled when I saw fried chicken. I was starving after not eating at the club, and the thought of deep-fried meat was luxurious after weeks of cabbage dishes and so-called McDonald's.**

Everyone rolled their eyes, "What?" I asked. "Food is important."

**A waitress arrived, and Sydney ordered in fluent Russian, whereas I just pointed at the menu. Huh. Sydney was just full of surprises. Considering her harsh attitude, I expected her to interrogate me right away, but when the waitress left, Sydney remained quiet, simply playing with her napkin and avoiding eye contact. It was so strange. She was definitely uncomfortable around me. Even with the table between us, it was like she couldn't get far enough away. Yet her earlier outrage hadn't been faked, and she'd been adamant about me following whatever these rules of hers were.**

**Well, she might have been playing coy, but I had no such hesitation about busting into uncomfortable topics. In fact, it was kind of my trademark.**

"Yes it is," everyone agreed.

**"So, are you ready to tell me who you are and what's going on?"**

**Sydney looked up. Now that we were in brighter light, I could see that her eyes were brown. I also noticed that she had an interesting tattoo on her lower left cheek. The ink looked like gold, something I'd never seen before. It was an elaborate design of flowers and leaves and was only really visible when she tilted her head certain ways so that the gold caught the light.**

**"I told you," she said. "I'm an Alchemist."**

**"And I told you, I don't know what that is. Is it some Russian word?" It didn't sound like one.**

The guardians in the room rolled their eyes and shook their head. For us, this was common knowledge and of course I'd been given the run down again when I graduated. However, at this point I really had been clueless. To everyone else in the room it was like I didn't know what a fork was or how to use it.

**A half-smile played on her lips. "No. I take it you've never heard of alchemy either?"**

**I shook my head, and she propped her chin up with her hand, eyes staring down at the table again. She swallowed, like she was bracing herself, and then a rush of words came out. "Back in the Middle Ages, there were these people who were convinced that if they found the right formula or magic, they could turn lead into gold. Unsurprisingly, they couldn't. This didn't stop them from pursuing all sorts of other mystical and supernatural stuff, and eventually they did find something magical." She frowned. "Vampires."**

**I thought back to my Moroi history classes. **

"Rose thought about her classes?" Christian exclaimed in mock surprise. I rolled my eyes and the others tried to hide their smiles. If it was one thing everyone had learned it was that I did pay attention in school… when the information was important.

**The Middle Ages were when our kind really started pulling away from humans, hiding out and keeping to ourselves. That was the time when vampires truly became myth as far as the rest of the world was concerned, and even Moroi were regarded as monsters worth hunting.**

**Sydney verified my thoughts. "And that was when the Moroi began to stay away. They had their magic, but humans were starting to outnumber them. We still do." That almost brought a smile to her face. Moroi sometimes had trouble conceiving, whereas humans seemed to have too easy a time. "And the Moroi made a deal with the Alchemists. If the Alchemists would help Moroi and dhampirs and their societies stay secret from humans, the Moroi would give us these." She touched the golden tattoo.**

**"What is that?" I asked. **

"A tattoo Rose." Christian said with a sigh. Eddie and Adrian laughed. I held up a fist, shutting them all up.

**"I mean, aside from the obvious."**

I gave each of them a pointed glare.

**She gently stroked it with her fingertips and didn't bother hiding the sarcasm when she spoke. "My guardian angel. It's actually gold and"-she grimaced and dropped her hand-"Moroi blood, charmed with water and earth."**

**"What?" My voice came out too loud, and some people in the restaurant turned to look at me. Sydney continued speaking, her tone much lower and very bitter.**

**"I'm not thrilled about it, but it's our 'reward' for helping you guys. The water and earth bind it to our skin and give us the same traits Moroi have well, a couple of them. I almost never get sick. I'll live a long life."**

**"I guess that sounds good," I said uncertainly.**

**"Maybe for some. We don't have a choice. This 'career' is a family thing-it gets passed down.**

Not having a choice about my future was something I understood. It wasn't such a big deal now. I'd accepted my roll as Lissa's guardian and was happy but still… there were days you wished you could just get in the car and drive, have a day to yourself.

**We all have to learn about Moroi and dhampirs. We work connections among humans that let us cover up for you since we can move around more freely. We've got tricks and techniques to get rid of Strigoi bodies-like that potion you saw. In return, though, we want to stay apart from you as much as we can-which is why most dhampirs aren't told about us until they graduate. And Moroi hardly ever." She abruptly stopped. I guessed the lesson was over.**

**My head was reeling. I had never, never considered anything like this-wait. Had I? Most of my education had emphasized the physical aspects of being a guardian: watchfulness, combat, etc. Yet every so often I'd heard vague references to those out in the human world who would help hide Moroi or get them out of weird and dangerous situations. I'd never thought much about it or heard the term Alchemist. If I had stayed in school, maybe I would have.**

**This probably wasn't an idea I should have suggested, but my nature couldn't help it. "Why keep the charm to yourselves? Why not share it with the human world?"**

**"Because there's an extra part to its power. It stops us from speaking about your kind in a way that would endanger or expose them."**

**A charm that bound them from speaking… that sounded suspiciously like compulsion. **

Everyone nodded.

**All Moroi could use compulsion a little, and most could put some of their magic into objects to give them certain properties. Moroi magic had changed over the years, and compulsion was regarded as an immoral thing now. I was guessing this tattoo was an old, old spell that had come down through the centuries.**

**I replayed the rest of what Sydney had said, more questions spinning in my head. "Why... why do you want to stay away from us? I mean, not that I'm looking to become BFFs or anything..."**

**"Because it's our duty to God to protect the rest of humanity from evil creatures of the night." Absentmindedly, her hand went to something at her neck. It was mostly covered by her jacket, but a parting of her collar briefly revealed a golden cross.**

**My initial reaction to that was unease, seeing as I wasn't very religious. In fact, I was never entirely comfortable around those who were hard-core believers. Thirty seconds later, the full impact of the rest of her words sank in.**

**"Wait a minute," I exclaimed indignantly. "Are you talking about all of us-dhampirs and Moroi? We're all evil creatures of the night?"**

**Her hands dropped from the cross, and she didn't respond.**

**"We're not like Strigoi!" I snapped.**

**Her face stayed bland. "Moroi drink blood. Dhampirs are the unnatural offspring of them and humans."**

**No one had ever called me unnatural before, except for the time I put ketchup on a taco. **

Eddie burst out laughing remembering the time we'd managed to convince one of the teachers at school to let us make tacos for Mason's birthday.

Everyone gave him and I a raised eye brow and Eddie smirked at me. I sighed and gave them a recap, "One of the teachers at school gave us all the supplies to make tacos because it was Mason's birthday and he really wanted tacos. Only problem was though, she only gave us one jar of salsa. By the time I'd snuck out of my dorm," Every one raised an eyebrow (Was I really the only one who couldn't do that?) "I was on probation… again…" I explained. "Well, they'd eaten all the salsa in a weird Salsa eating contest."

Eddie grinned, "I won."

Every one gave me a disgusted look knowing what was coming.

"So, you used ketchup instead?" Lissa asked

"What was I supposed to do?"

Eddie snickered again, "Ok, keep reading."

**But seriously, we'd been out of salsa, so what else was I supposed to do? "Moroi and dhampirs are not evil," I told Sydney. "Not like Strigoi."**

**"That's true," she conceded. "Strigoi are more evil."**

Sydney looked extremely uncomfortable sitting in a room with 9 of us staring at her, "It's how I was raised." She insisted defensively.

**"Hey, that's not what I-"**

**The food arrived just then, and the fried chicken was almost enough to distract me from the outrage of being compared to a Strigoi. Mostly all it did was delay me from responding immediately to her claims, and I bit into the golden crust and nearly melted then and there. Sydney had ordered a cheeseburger and fries and nibbled her food delicately.**

**After taking down an entire chicken leg, I was finally able to resume the argument. "We're not like Strigoi at all. Moroi don't kill. You have no reason to be afraid of us." Again, I wasn't keen on cozying up to humans. None of my kind were, not with the way humans tended to be trigger-happy and ready to experiment on anything they didn't understand.**

**"Any human who learns about you will inevitably learn about Strigoi," she said. She was playing with her fries but not actually eating them.**

**"Knowing about Strigoi might enable humans to protect themselves, though." Why the hell was I playing devil's advocate here?**

**She finished toying with a fry and dropped it back on her plate. "Perhaps. But there are a lot of people who would be tempted by the thought of immortality-even at the cost of serving Strigoi in exchange for being turned into a creature from hell. You'd be surprised at how a lot of humans respond when they learn about vampires. Immortality's a big draw-despite the evil that goes with it. A lot of humans who learn about Strigoi will try to serve them, in the hopes of eventually being turned."**

**"That's insane-" I stopped. **

"And true." I told book me.

**Last year, we'd discovered evidence of humans helping Strigoi. Strigoi couldn't touch silver stakes, but humans could, and some had used those stakes to shatter Moroi wards. Had those humans been promised immortality? "And so," said Sydney, "that's why it's best if we just make sure no one knows about any of you. You're out there-all of you-and there's nothing to be done about it. You do your thing to get rid of Strigoi, and we'll do ours and save the rest of my kind."**

**I chewed on a chicken wing and restrained myself from the implied meaning that she was saving her kind from people like me, too. In some ways, what she was saying made sense. It wasn't possible that we could always move through the world invisibly, and yes, I could admit, it was necessary for someone to dispose of Strigoi bodies. Humans working with Moroi were an ideal choice. Such humans would be able to move around the world freely, particularly if they had the kinds of contacts and connections she kept implying.**

**I froze mid-chew, remembering my earlier thoughts when I'd first come along with Sydney. I forced myself to swallow and then took a long drink of water. "Here's a question. Do you have contacts all over Russia?"**

**"Unfortunately," she said. "When Alchemists turn eighteen, we're sent on an internship to get firsthand experience in the trade and make all sorts of connections. I would have rather stayed in Utah."**

**That was almost crazier than everything else she'd told me, but I didn't push it. "What kind of connections exactly?"**

**She shrugged. "We track the movements of a lot of Moroi and dhampirs. We also know a lot of high-ranking government officials-among humans and Moroi. If there's been a vampire sighting among humans, we can usually find someone important who can pay someone off or whatever... It all gets swept under the rug."**

**Track the movements of a lot of Moroi and dhampirs. Jackpot. I leaned in close and lowered my voice. Everything seemed to hinge on this moment.**

**"I'm looking for a village... a village of dhampirs out in Siberia. I don't know its name." Dimitri had only ever mentioned its name once, and I'd forgotten. "It's kind of near... Om?"**

**"Omsk," she corrected.**

**I straightened up. "Do you know it?"**

**She didn't answer right away, but her eyes betrayed her. "Maybe."**

**"You do!" I exclaimed. "You have to tell me where it is. I have to get there."**

**She made a face. "Are you going to be... one of those?"**

**So Alchemists knew about blood whores. No surprise. If Sydney and her associates knew everything else about the vampire world, they'd know this too.**

**"No," I said haughtily. "I just have to find someone."**

**"Who?"**

**"Someone."**

I snuggled into that 'someone''s side.

**That almost made her smile. Her brown eyes were thoughtful as she munched on another fry. She'd only taken two bites out of her cheeseburger, and it was rapidly growing cold. I kind of wanted to eat it myself on principle.**

Everyone chuckled again, something about the way I thought about food was incredibly funny to them… but I couldn't see it.

**"I'll be right back," she said abruptly. She stood up and strode across to a quiet corner of the cafe. Producing a cell phone from that magic purse of hers, she turned her back to the room and made a call.**

**I'd polished off my chicken by then and helped myself to some of her fries **

I was careful not to look at Sydney as she appeared to be trying to pull up her own memory of these events.

**since it was looking less and less like she was going to do anything with them. As I ate, I pondered the possibilities before me, wondering if finding Dimitri's town would really be this simple. And once I was there... would it be simple then? Would he be there, living in the shadows and hunting prey? **

Dimitri flinched and I took his hand in both of mine. Rubbing it, with my thumbs, in gentle circles.

**And when faced with him, could I really drive my stake into his heart? That unwanted image came to me again, Dimitri with red eyes and "Rose?"**

**I blinked. I'd totally spaced out, and Sydney was back. She slid back into her spot across from me. "So, it looks like-" She paused and looked down. "Did you eat some of my fries?"**

Adrian cracked up, "Busted".

**I had no clue how she knew, seeing as it was such a huge stack. I'd barely made a dent. Figuring me stealing fries would count as further evidence of being an evil creature of the night, I said glibly, "No."**

**She frowned a moment, considering, and then said, "I do know where this town is. I've been there before."**

**"**I knew you stole some of my fries!" Sydney exclaimed, giving me a glare.

"How did you even know!?" I yelled back, "There I only took four or five!" They all looked at me and I sighed, "Okay, maybe six or seven- but thats it!"

She didn't answer, just shook her head muttering, "I knew it," over and over.

**I straightened up. Holy crap. This was actually going to happen, after all these weeks of searching. Sydney would tell me where this place was, and I could go and try to close this horrible chapter in my life.**

Adrian flipped to the back, "or… you know, close the next 28 chapters of your life."

**"Thank you, thank you so much-"**

**She held up a hand to silence me, and I noticed then how miserable she looked.**

**"But I'm not going to tell you where it is."**

**My mouth gaped. "What?"**

**"I'm going to take you there myself."**

"Thats chapter 2." Adrian said.

I looked over to the clock, "How bout we take a break, grab some lunch." The others followed my gaze and agreed.


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer, Richelle Mead owns the Characters.

P.s. I added more of my own flare... Please, please review and let me know if I did it alright... :) this is a test run for the next few chapters (that also have added extras)

**Lissa's POV **

We regathered in the sitting area almost an hour later. Each of us had a sandwich in hand, well, except Rose, she had two.

I was talking to Christian but my eyes looked over the other people in the room.

Rose was seated on the back of the couch, Dimitri beside her obviously not touching for the sake of her parents who were seated across from them, the four of them were discussing some of the changes the Guardian council was considering. I only barely understood the changes when Rose tried to explain it to me once. From what I understood the age law had them scrambling, trying to prepare for the worst. Guardians from all over where pulling their weight. Going to various academies and giving extra classes similar to the ones Dimitri had given Rose. I'd recently found out that it was Rose's idea. She'd been harassing Hanz over it and he finally sat down and listened. Rose didn't go into detail, all I knew was that she was gaining a lot of influence within the Guardian world.

Jill sat with Adrian and Sydney, eating and talking about their days in Palm Spring. It was nice to see Adrian had healed from Rose. I won't deny that it was kinda odd that he now had his eyes set on Sydney, an Alchemist, someone whom inherently hated what we were… Sydney seemed to feel comfortable around us however.

Eddie was sitting next to Dimitri, Mia beside him. He was half listening to the guardian conversation and half talking to Mia, she didn't seem to notice, or she didn't mind.

I turned to Christian who was smiling at me, amused. I felt myself blush. "What did you say?"

He shook his head, "I love you." He pressed a kiss to my lips.

It was one of the short and sweet kisses that made my heart flutter.

He reached out to the coffee table where Adrian had left the book. "Everyone ready?"

Rose looked over smirking, "Your turn sparky?"

He grinned back and turned to the book.

**Chapter 3**

It was at this point that Rose's phone buzzed.

Christian rolled his eyes, opening his mouth to make a comment, undoubtedly one he shouldn't, but he stopped himself when Rose answered, "Identification number 1874…" the numbers faded as she left the room. She technically wasn't supposed to answer until she was in a secure room but she hardly ever followed the rules. I'd probably be able to remember the number if I tried. I'd heard it enough times.

"Identification number?" Eddie had turned to Janine and Dimitri. Janine shrugged, obviously as out of the loop as Eddie, both turned to Dimitri. He explained, "The council is trying to become more secure there was an incident with some stolen records…" He fought back a smile, "So they use the numbers to Identify themselves to a computer before the call goes through. If you give the wrong number, an alert goes, your location is tracked, things like that."

"How come we weren't told about this?" Janine asked.

"It's still fairly new, the councils waiting to see if it's worth it before publicizing it. I only know because Rose and I were in the gym when she got a call." Dimitri chuckled at the memory. I made a mental note to ask Rose about it later.

"Wait a minute," Eddie said slowly, "If Rose has on of these special numbers dose that mean… does that mean she's apart of the council?"

Dimitri was about to answer but Rose had returned, "No, I'm just spacial." She said lightly, a smile lighting up her face that she tried to push down. "You guys keep reading, I've got some work to do apparently. I'll be back in an hour or so." Rose grabbed her coat and slipped out the door before any of us had a chance to reply.

"What? How?" Adrian shot up, "This door was locked 20 minutes ago- I checked." He said hurrying over to the door. He tried opening it again, nothing happened.

Christian looked down at the book, "Well, Rose said keep reading." He started reading as Adrian made his way back to Sydney and Jill, grumbling the whole way.

**"Wait-what?" I exclaimed.**

**That wasn't in the plan. That wasn't in the plan at all. I was trying to move through Russia in as incognito a way as possible. Plus, I didn't really relish the thought of having a tagalong-particularly one who appeared to hate me. I didn't know how long it would take to get to Siberia-a couple days, I thought-and I couldn't imagine spending them listening to Sydney talk about what an unnatural, evil being I was.**

"I wasn't that thrilled about it either." Sydney mumbled.

**Swallowing my outrage, I attempted reason. After all, I was asking a favor here. "That's not necessary," I said, forcing a smile. "It's nice of you to offer, but I don't want to inconvenience you."**

**"Well," she replied dryly, "there's no getting around that. And it's not me being nice. It's not even my choice. It's an order from my superiors."**

I saw Sydney slide a glance to Abe and shutter. It was small but I was certain I had seen it. Maybe we'll finally get to find out what the deal was with Abe. Everyone that knew about him had always said he was bad news. Of course, being friends with his daughter had automatically put me in the "good books" least, I think it did. It was always interesting looking at Rose and Abe's auras. Rose wasn't thrilled about having him suddenly in her life especially since all he really did was torment her boyfriends. But I could see that she was warming up to him. Her aura had a hint of the same warm gold colour it had with her mother, however that bond had grown significantly. I caught a glimpse of the clock, where was Rose?

**"It still sounds like a pain in the ass for you. Why don't you just tell me where it is and blow them off?"**

**"You obviously don't know the people I work for."**

Abe smiled broadly.

**"Don't need to. I ignore authority all the time. It's not hard once you get used to it."**

My mother and Alberta shared a look and I caught Abe's aura glowed. Rose may have never met her father but seeing his pride for his daughter it was obvious that these traits were most definitely passed down.

**"Yeah? How's that working out for you with finding this village?" she asked mockingly. "Look, if you want to get there, this is the only way."**

**Well-it was the only way I could get there if I used Sydney for information. I could always go back to staking out the Nightingale... but it had taken me this long to get a lead from there. Meanwhile, she was here right in front of me with the information I needed.**

**"Why?" I asked. "Why do you have to go too?"**

**"I can't tell you that. Bottom line: They told me to."**

**Lovely. I eyed her, trying to figure out what was going on here. Why on earth would anyone-let alone humans with their hands in the Moroi world -care where one teenage dhampir went? I didn't think Sydney had any ulterior motives-unless she was a very, very good actress. Yet, clearly the people she answered to had an agenda, and I didn't like playing into anyone's plan. At the same time, I was anxious to get on with this. Each day that passed was another in which I didn't find Dimitri.**

I looked over to Dimitri and caught a glimpse of darkness playing around the edges of his aura. I was good at reading auras now, even if i was still learning what everything meant. Sonya had mentioned this darkness. It was the same kind I saw in hers. It was the memories. Rose was worried reading these memories would spark something…

**"How soon can we leave?" I asked at last. Sydney, I decided, was a paper-pusher. **

"Paper-pusher?" she asked looking around at anyone for an explanation.

**She'd shown no real skill in tracking me earlier. Surely it wouldn't be that hard to ditch her once we were near enough to Dimitri's town.**

Sydney huffed, crossing her arms. Looks like Rose was saved from a nasty conversation.

I glanced at the clock again, where was she?

**She looked kind of disappointed at my response, almost as though she'd hoped I would decline and then she'd be off the hook. She didn't want to come with me any more than I wanted her to. Opening her purse, she took out her cell phone again, fiddled with it a couple of minutes, and finally produced some train times. She showed me the schedule for the next day.**

**"Does that work for you?"**

**I studied the screen and nodded. "I know where that station is. I can be there."**

**"Okay." She stood up and tossed some cash on the table. "I'll see you tomorrow." She started to walk away and then glanced back at me. "Oh, and you can have the rest of my fries."**

Eddie, Adrian and Christian laughed, "You tell her Sydney." Eddie chuckled.

**When I first came to Russia, I stayed in youth hostels. I'd certainly had the money to stay elsewhere, but I wanted to remain under the radar.**

**Besides, luxury hadn't really been the first thing on my mind. When I began going to the Nightingale, however, I found I could hardly return to a boarding house of backpacking students while wearing a designer dress.**

**So I was now staying at a posh hotel, complete with guys who always held the doors open and a marble-floored lobby. That lobby was so big that I think an entire hostel could have fit in it. Maybe two hostels. My room was large and overdone too, and I was grateful to reach it and change out of the heels and dress. I realized with only a small pang of regret that I'd have to leave the dresses I'd bought in Saint Petersburg behind. I wanted to keep my luggage light while jaunting around the country, and even if my backpack was large, there was only so much I could carry. Oh well. Those dresses would make some cleaning woman's day, no doubt. The only bit of ornamentation I really needed was my nazar, a pendant that looked like a blue eye. It had been a gift from my mother, which had in turn been a gift from my father. I always wore it around my neck.**

Abe's aura glowed. Adrian turned slightly, away from the light. Catching my eye I knew he'd seen it too. I was starting to realize how much Abe actually loved his daughter.

**Our train for Moscow left late in the morning, and we would then catch a cross-country train to Siberia. I wanted to be well rested and ready for it all. Once in my pajamas, I snuggled under the bed's heavy comforter and hoped sleep would come soon. Instead, my mind spun with all the things that had happened recently. The Sydney situation was a bizarre twist but one I could handle. As long as we stuck to public transportation, she could hardly lead me into the clutches of her mysterious superiors. And from what she'd said about our travel time, it would indeed only take a couple of days or so to reach the village. Two days seemed both impossibly long and impossibly short.**

**It meant I could very well be confronting Dimitri in a few days... and then what? Could I do it? Could I bring myself to kill him? And even if I decided I could, would I actually have the skill to overpower him? The same questions that I'd been asking myself for the last two weeks kept plaguing me over and over. Dimitri had taught me everything I knew, and with enhanced Strigoi reflexes, he would truly be the god I'd always joked he was. Death was a very real possibility for me.**

I watched Dimitri closely. He had his eyes closed and the darkness was fluttering through his aura. He looked up and caught my eye, forcing out a smile. I smiled sympathetically but he turned his head away I wasn't sure if he'd seen it.

**But worrying wasn't helpful right now and, looking over at the clock in the room, I discovered I'd been lying awake for almost an hour. That was no good. I needed to be in peak condition. So I did something I knew I shouldn't do, but which always worked to get my mind off my worries-largely because it involved me being in someone else's mind.**

**Slipping inside Lissa's head required only a small amount of concentration on my part. I hadn't known if I could do it when we were far apart, but I'd discovered the process was no different than if I were standing right beside her.**

I always had mixed feeling when she told me she did that. A part of me wanted to be mad at her, she'd left me, she shouldn't have been watching. However, most of me took comfort from it. It proved she never truly left me. And, well, in the end- it had paid off. A girl, a spirit user, had tried to kill me and it had been our bond that saved me. Rose saved me.

**It was late morning back in Montana, and Lissa had no classes today since it was Saturday. During my time away, I'd worked very hard to put up mental walls between us, almost completely blocking her and her feelings out. Now, inside her, all the barriers were down, and her emotions hit me like a tidal wave. She was pissed off. Really pissed off.**

I was?

**"Why does she think she can just snap her fingers and get me to go anywhere she wants, anytime she wants?" Lissa growled.**

**"Because she's the queen. And because you made a deal with the devil."**

Oh. I thought, remembering Tatiana and her stupid request.

**Lissa and her boyfriend, Christian, were lounging in the attic of the school's chapel. As soon as I recognized the surroundings, I nearly pulled out of her head. The two of them had had way too many "romantic" encounters up here, and I didn't want to stick around if clothes were going to be ripped off soon. Fortunately-or perhaps not-her annoyed feelings told me there'd be no sex today, not with her bad mood.**

**It was kind of ironic, actually. Their roles were reversed. Lissa was the raging one while Christian remained cool and collected, trying to appear calm for her sake. He sat on the floor, leaning up against the wall, while she sat in front of him, his legs apart and his arms holding her. She rested her head on his chest and sighed.**

**"For the last few weeks, I've done everything she's asked! Vasilisa, please show this stupid visiting royal around campus.' Vasilisa, please jump on a plane for the weekend so that I can introduce you to some boring officials here at Court.' Vasilisa, please put in some volunteer time with the younger students. It looks good.'" Despite Lissa's frustration, I couldn't help a little amusement. She had Queen Tatiana's voice down perfectly.**

That was news to me. I thought I was way off.

**"You would have done that last one willingly," Christian pointed out.**

**"Yeah... the point being willingly. I hate her trying to dictate every part of my life lately."**

**Christian leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Like I said, you made a deal with the devil. You're her darling now. She wants to make sure you're making her look good."**

**Lissa scowled. Although Moroi lived inside human-run countries and were subject to those governments, they were also ruled by a king or queen who came from one of the twelve royal Moroi families. Queen Tatiana-an Ivashkov-was the current ruler, and she'd taken a particular interest in Lissa as the last living member of the Dragomir family. As such, Tatiana had cut Lissa a deal. If Lissa lived at Court after graduating from St. Vladimir's, the queen would arrange for her to attend Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. Lissa was a total brain and thought living in Tatiana's household would be worth it to attend a semi-big, prestigious university, as opposed to the tiny ones Moroi usually went to (for safety reasons).**

Ha. I thought bitterly, now I have to run the government and have private instructors come to my office. I wish I could go to regular university.

**As Lissa was finding out, though, the strings attached to that deal were already in place now. "And I just sit and take it," Lissa said. "I just smile and say Yes, your majesty. Anything you want, your majesty.'"**

**"Then tell her the deal's off. You'll be eighteen in a couple of months. Royal or not, you're under no obligations. You don't need her to go to a big school. We'll just take off, you and me. Go to whatever college you want. Or don't go to college at all. We can run off to Paris or something and work at a little cafe. Or sell bad art on the streets."**

I snuggled closer to my prince. He would always be there to help me, to cheer me up. Always.

**This actually made Lissa laugh, and she snuggled closer to Christian. "Right. I can totally see you having the patience to wait on people. You'd be fired your first day. Looks like the only way we'll survive is if I go to college and support us."**

**"There are other ways to get to college, you know."**

**"Yeah, but not to any that are this good," she said wistfully. "Not easily, at least. This is the only way. I just wish I could have all this and stand up to her a little. Rose would."**

**"Rose would have gotten herself arrested for treason the first time Tatiana asked her to do something."**

Everyone shifted uncomfortably. Christian looked up from the book looking thoughtful, "Never thought it would actually happen…" After a moment he looked back to the book and continued.

**Lissa smiled sadly. "Yeah. She would have." The smile turned into a sigh. "I miss her so much."**

**Christian kissed her again. "I know." This was a familiar conversation for them, one that never grew old because Lissa's feelings for me never faded.**

**"She's okay, you know. Wherever she is, she's okay."**

**Lissa stared off into the attic's darkness. The only light came from a stained-glass window that made the whole place look like a fairyland. The space had been recently cleaned out-by Dimitri and me, actually. It had only been a couple of months ago, but already, dust and boxes were accumulating once more. The priest here was a nice guy but kind of a pack rat. Lissa noticed none of this, though. Her thoughts were too focused on me.**

**"I hope so. I wish I had some idea-any idea-where she is. I keep thinking that if anything happened to her, if she-" Lissa couldn't finish the thought. "Well, I keep thinking that I'd know somehow. That I'd feel it. I mean, I know the bond's one-way... that's never changed. But I'd have to know if something happened to her, right?"**

And from what Robbert said, I defiantly would have. Losing a bond mate violently, apparently it was horrific. Rose and I didn't have to worry about that now… but Adrian and Jill did.

**"I don't know," said Christian. "Maybe. Maybe not." Any other guy would have said something overly sweet and comforting, assuring her that yes, yes, of course she'd know. But it was part of Christian's nature to be brutally honest. Lissa liked that about him. So did I. It didn't always make him a pleasant friend, but at least you knew he wasn't bullshitting you.**

**She sighed again. "Adrian says she's okay. He visits her dreams. I'd give anything to be able to do that. My healing's getting better and better, and I've got the aura thing down. But no dreams yet."**

Now I did. I'd had my first successful dream walk with Rose almost a month ago. She was off doing something guardian related and I missed her. Next thing I knew she was in front of me and really pissed off. I was staring at her back and she groaned, "I just want one night of peace! Just one-" Thats when she turned around. It was that night I found out that I wasn't the only one visiting her. She said we'd talk about it later but I'd forgotten by the time she got back. I'll have to ask her about it the second she got back.

**Knowing Lissa missed me hurt almost more than if she'd completely written me off. I'd never wanted to hurt her. Even when I'd resented her for feeling like she was controlling my life, I'd never hated her. I loved her like a sister and couldn't stand the thought of her suffering now on my behalf. How had things gotten so screwed up between us?**

I nodded. Things had gotten messed up but i was sure everything had happened exactly the way it needed to.

**She and Christian continued sitting there in comfortable silence, drawing strength and love from each other. They had what Dimitri and I had had, a sense of such oneness and familiarity that words often weren't needed. He ran his fingers through her hair, and while I couldn't see it so well through her own eyes, I could imagine the way that pale hair would gleam in the rainbow light of the stained-glass windows. He tucked several long locks behind her ear and then tipped her head back, bringing his lips down to hers. The kiss started off light and sweet and then slowly intensified, warmth spreading from his mouth to hers.**

**Uh-oh, I thought. It might be time to take off after all. But she ended it before I had to.**

**"It's time," she said regretfully. "We've got to go."**

**The look in Christian's crystal-blue eyes said otherwise. "Maybe this is the perfect time for you to stand up to the queen. You should just stay here -it'd be a great way to build character."**

**Lissa lightly elbowed him and then planted a kiss on his forehead before standing up. "That is not why you want me to stay, so don't even try to play me."**

Eddie chucked but immediately tried to cover it with a cough. Dimitri had a small grin on and patted Eddies back. Christian rolled his eyes and continued.

**They left the chapel, and Christian mumbled something about wanting to do more than play that earned him another elbow. **

This resulted in Adrian and Mia developing a sudden coughing fit as well. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks.

**They were heading toward the administration building, which was in the heart of the upper school's campus. Aside from the first blushes of spring, everything looked like it had when I'd left-at least on the outside. The stone buildings remained grand and imposing. The tall, ancient trees continued their watch.**

**Yet, inside the hearts of the staff and students, things had changed. Everyone carried scars from the attack. Many of our people had been killed, and while classes were up and running again, everyone still grieved.**

All of us were silent, listening to Christian and remembering the attack, yes. It had taken months to heal, at least. Most took more.

**Lissa and Christian reached their destination: the administration building. She didn't know the reason for her summoning, only that Tatiana had wanted her to meet some royal guy who had just arrived at the Academy. Considering how many people Tatiana was always forcing her to meet lately, Lissa didn't think too much of it. She and Christian stepped inside the main office, where they found Headmistress Kirova sitting and chatting with an older Moroi and a girl about our age.**

**"Ah, Miss Dragomir. There you are."**

**I'd gotten in trouble with Kirova a lot while I'd been a student, yet seeing her now made me feel kind of nostalgic. **

That's not exactly what I would imagine…

**Getting suspended for starting a fight in class seemed worlds better than traipsing through Siberia to find Dimitri. Kirova had the same birdlike appearance she'd always had, the same glasses balanced at the end of her nose. The man and girl stood up, and Kirova gestured to them.**

**"This is Eugene Lazar and his daughter Avery." Kirova turned back toward Lissa. "This is Vasilisa Dragomir and Christian Ozera."**

**A fair bit of sizing up went on then. Lazar was a royal name, but that was no surprise since Tatiana had initiated this meeting. Mr. Lazar gave Lissa a winning smile as he shook her hand. He seemed a bit surprised to meet Christian, but the smile stayed. Of course, that kind of reaction to Christian wasn't so unusual.**

**The two ways to become Strigoi were by choice or by force. A Strigoi could turn another person-human, Moroi, or dhampir-by drinking their blood and then feeding Strigoi blood back to them. That was what had happened to Dimitri. The other way to become Strigoi was unique to Moroi -and it was done by choice. Moroi who purposely chose to kill a person by drinking blood would also turn Strigoi. Usually, Moroi only drank small, nonlethal amounts from willing humans. But taking so much that it destroyed another's life force? Well, that turned Moroi to the dark side, taking away their elemental magic and transforming them into the twisted undead.**

Christian paused, only for a second. I wasn't sure anyone else had noticed, but he continued.

**That was exactly what Christian's parents had done. They'd willingly killed and become Strigoi to gain eternal life. Christian had never shown any desire to become Strigoi, but everyone acted as though he were about to. (Admittedly, his snarky attitude didn't always help.) A lot of his close family-despite being royal-had been unfairly shunned as well. He and I had teamed up to kick a fair amount of Strigoi ass during the attack, though. Word of that was getting around and improving his reputation.**

**Kirova was never one to waste time with formalities, so she got straight to the point. "Mr. Lazar is going to be the new headmaster here."**

**Lissa had still been smiling at him politely, but her head immediately jerked toward Kirova. "What?"**

**"I'm going to be stepping down," explained Kirova, voice flat and emotionless enough to rival any guardian's. "Though I'll still be serving the school as a teacher."**

**"You're going to teach?" Christian asked incredulously.**

Every one chuckled a little, even Janine. It really was a little hard to imagine.

**She gave him a dry look. "Yes, Mr. Ozera. It was what I originally went to school for. I'm sure if I try hard enough, I can remember how to do it."**

**"But why?" asked Lissa. "You do a great job."**

**It was more or less true. Despite my disputes with Kirova-usually over me breaking rules-I still had a healthy respect for her. Lissa did too.**

**"It's something I've thought about returning to for some time," explained Kirova. "Now seemed as good a time as any, and Mr. Lazar is a very capable administrator."**

**Lissa was pretty good at reading people. I think it was part of spirit's side effects, along with how spirit made its users very, very charismatic. Lissa thought Kirova was lying, and so did I. If I'd been able to read Christian's mind, my guess would have been that he felt the same way. The attack on the Academy had sent a lot of people into a panic, royals in particular, even though the problem that had led to the attack had long since been fixed. I was guessing that Tatiana's hand was at work here, forcing Kirova to step down and have a royal take her place, thus making other royals feel better.**

A few people nodded, it was a lot more logical reason.

**Lissa didn't let her thoughts show, and she turned back to Mr. Lazar. "Well, it's very nice to meet you. I'm sure you'll do a great job. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you." She was playing the proper princess role perfectly. Being polite and sweet was one of her many talents.**

**"Actually," said Mr. Lazar, "there is." He had a deep, booming voice, the kind that filled a room. He gestured toward his daughter. "I was wondering if you could show Avery around and help her find her way here. She graduated last year but will be assisting me in my duties. I'm sure she'd much rather be spending time with someone her own age, however."**

**Avery smiled, and for the first time, Lissa really paid attention to her. Avery was beautiful. Stunning. Lissa was beautiful too, between that gorgeous hair and the jade green eyes that ran in her family. I thought she was a hundred times prettier than Avery, but beside the older girl, Lissa felt kind of plain. Avery was tall and slim like most Moroi but had a few sexy curves thrown in. That kind of chest, like mine, was coveted among Moroi, and her long brown hair and blue-gray eyes completed the package.**

**"I promise not to be too much of a pain," **

I heard myself scoft bitterly, "Not too much of a pain no. Only try to kill me. No big deal."

**said Avery. "And if you want, I'll give you some insider's tips on Court life. I hear you're going to be moving there."**

**Instantly, Lissa's defenses went up. She realized what was going on. Not only had Tatiana ousted Kirova, she'd sent a keeper for Lissa. A beautiful, perfect companion who could spy on Lissa and attempt to train her up to Tatiana's standards. Lissa's words were perfectly polite when she spoke, but there was a definite edge of frost in her voice.**

**"That'd be great," she said. "I'm pretty busy lately, but we can try to make the time."**

**Neither Avery's father nor Kirova seemed to notice the back off subtext, but something flashed in Avery's eyes that told Lissa the message had come through.**

**"Thanks," said Avery. Unless I was mistaken, there was some legitimate hurt in her face. "I'm sure we'll figure something out."**

**"Good, good," said Mr. Lazar, totally oblivious to the girl drama. "Maybe you can show Avery to guest housing? She's staying in the east wing."**

**"Sure," said Lissa, wishing she could do anything but that.**

**She, Christian, and Avery started to leave, but just then, two guys entered the room. One was a Moroi, a little younger than us, and the other was a dhampir in his twenties-a guardian, from the look of his hard, serious features.**

**"Ah, there you are," said Mr. Lazar, beckoning the guys in. He rested his hand on the boy's shoulder. "This is my son Reed. He's a junior and will be attending classes here. He's very excited about it."**

**Actually, Reed looked extremely unexcited. He was pretty much the surliest guy I'd ever seen. If I ever needed to play the role of a disgruntled teen, I could have learned everything there was to know about it from Reed Lazar. He had the same good looks and features as Avery, but they were marred by a grimace that seemed permanently attached to his face. Mr. Lazar introduced the others to Reed. Reed's only response was a guttural, "Hey."**

**"And this is Simon, Avery's guardian," continued Mr. Lazar. "Of course, while on campus, he doesn't need to be with her all the time. You know how it goes. Still, I'm sure you'll see him around."**

"Hard to believe they were both like that because they were shadow kissed." I said absentmindedly.

"Both of them?" Sonya looked at me. Right, Sonya didn't know this part. Neither did Dimitri for that matter. Or Abe. I was giving serious spoilers here. "Yeah, spoiler alert."

Almost everyone rolled their eyes.

**I hoped not. He didn't look as completely unpleasant as Reed, but he had a certain dour nature that seemed extreme even among guardians.**

**Suddenly, I kind of felt sorry for Avery. If this was her only company, I'd want to befriend someone like Lissa pretty badly. Lissa, however, made it clear that she wouldn't be part of Tatiana's schemes. With little conversation, she and Christian escorted Avery to guest housing and promptly left.**

**Normally, Lissa would have stayed to help Avery get settled and offered to eat with her later. Not this time. Not with ulterior motives afoot.**

I hated the thought of being a pawn, by anyone. It reminded me of Victors games.

**I came back to my own body, back in the hotel. I knew I shouldn't care about Academy life anymore and that I should even feel bad for Avery. Yet lying there and staring into the darkness, I couldn't help but take some smug-and yes, very selfish-satisfaction out of this encounter: Lissa wouldn't be shopping for a new best friend anytime soon.**

No, never, I thought. Rose is the only best friend I would ever need.

"Thats Chapter 3." Christian announced proudly, who's next? Dimitri held up a hand, "I will." Christian tossed him the book. Dimitri shuffled through the pages, to chapter 4. I used the opportunity to ask, "Where did Rose go?" I didn't ask anyone specifically, and judging from the expression on everyone, no one knew.

A/N, Okay, I really do need your opinion on my personal writing. I add a lot in these next few chapters and I really want to make sure I'm writing what you guys, the readers, want to read. Just let me know. Tips are much appreciated. I'm trying to add humor but the book as a whole is well, sad. So, anything you think might be good to include- I want to hear about. :P Thanks for all the support, it means a lot.


	6. Chapter 5

Dimitri POV

I found the fourth chapter just as Lissa asked where Rose was. I'd been thinking the same thing. It'd almost been 45 minutes already. If it was any danger the alarms would have gone off, someone would have called so that eliminated that. But still, where was she?

**Chapter 4**

**At any other time in my life, I would have loved exploring Moscow. Sydney had planned our trip so that when our train arrived there, we'd have a few hours before we had to board the next one to Siberia. This gave us some time to wander around and grab dinner, though she wanted to make sure we were safely inside the station before it grew too dark out. Despite my badass claims or my molnija marks, she didn't want to take any chances.**

**It made no difference to me how we spent our downtime. So long as I was getting closer to Dimitri, that was all that mattered. So Sydney and I walked aimlessly, taking in the sights and saying very little. I had never been to Moscow. It was a beautiful city, thriving and full of people and commerce. I could have spent days there just shopping and trying out the restaurants. Places I'd heard about all my life-the Kremlin, Red Square, the Bolshoi Theatre-were all at my fingertips. Despite how cool it all was, I actually tried to tune out the city's sights and sounds after a while because it reminded me of… well, Dimitri.**

I felt the familiar pang of sadness, I'd hurt Rose so much… No, I told myself sternly. _He _had hurt her- not me.

**He used to talk to me about Russia all the time and had sworn up and down that I'd love it here.**

**"To you, it'd be like a fairy tale," he'd told me once. It was during a before-school practice late last autumn,**

I instantly remembered, dragging it from the back of my mind.

** just before the first snowfall. The air had been misty, and dew coated everything.**

**"Sorry, comrade," I'd replied, reaching back to tie my hair into a ponytail. Dimitri had always loved my hair down, but in combat practice? Long hair was a total liability. "Borg and out-of-date music aren't part of any happy ending I've ever imagined."**

I couldn't help the laugh that escaped my lips. I loved my Roza so much.

**He'd given me one of his rare, easy grins then, the kind that just slightly crinkled up the corners of his eyes. "Borscht, not borg. And I've seen your appetite. If you were hungry enough, you'd eat it."**

Everyone joined in, laughing.

"She probably would," Lissa said sighing.

**"So starvation's necessary for this fairy tale to work out?" There was nothing I loved more than teasing Dimitri. Well, aside from maybe kissing him.**

I glanced up for a split second to see the frown on Roza's parents, but returned to the book before anyone noticed.

**"I'm talking about the land. The buildings. Go to one of the big cities-it's like nothing you've ever seen. Everyone in the U.S. tends to build the same-always in big, chunky blocks. They do what's fast and easy. But in Russia, there are buildings that are like pieces of art. They are art-even a lot of the ordinary, everyday buildings. And places like the WinterPalace and TroitskyChurch in Saint Petersburg? Those will take your breath away."**

**His face had been aglow with the memory of sites he'd seen,**

A memory now tainted with sadness and anger. I knew if I ever went back I would not see the same brilliance… no. I would see the beautiful girls I'd murdered in the gardens and the men I'd fought, terrorizing for the fun of it. I would see the occasional small child I'd stolen a future from… No, I wasn't ready to go back. I wasn't sure if I'd ever be ready.

** that joy making his already handsome features divine. I think he could have named landmarks all day. My heart had burned within me, just from watching him. **

Then again, maybe… maybe I could. It was possible, just like with reading this book and revisiting everything I'd done to Rose, that revisiting the city would help me see the beauty I'd been blind to before. That _he'd _blinded me too.

**And then, just like I always did when I worried I might turn sappy or sentimental, I'd made a joke to shift the attention away and hide my emotions. It had switched him back into business mode, and we'd gotten to work.**

**Now, walking the city streets with Sydney, I wished I could take back that joke and listen to Dimitri talk more about his homeland. I would have given anything to have Dimitri with me here, the way he used to be. He'd been right about the buildings. Sure, most were blocky copies of anything you'd find in the U.S. or anywhere else in the world, but some were exquisite-painted with bright colors, adorned with their strange yet beautiful onion-shaped domes. At times, it really did seem like something from another world. And all the while, I kept thinking that it should have been Dimitri here by my side, pointing things out and explaining them to me. We should have been having a romantic getaway. Dimitri and I could have eaten at exotic restaurants and then gone dancing at night. I could have worn one of the designer dresses I'd had to leave behind in the Saint Petersburg hotel. That's how it was supposed to be. It wasn't supposed to be me with a glowering human.**

From the corner of my eye I saw Sydney glare at the book. She opened her mouth to say something but when she saw me she stopped. I don't know what she saw but if my face was anything like the emotions ragging in the pit of my stomach it must have been a cross from grief and pain. I _should _have been there with Rose. We _should _have had our happy ever after.

I heard her voice in the back of my mind, 'we do now'. It wasn't an unknown conversation for us. I'd felt this way a lot. Mostly when we had to leave each other. When Christian was headed off for another semester of college and I was feeling particularly angry at the world that I wouldn't wake the next day with her beside me. She'd always calmed me. Reminding me we had each other now.

**"Unreal, huh? Like something from a story."**

**Sydney's voice startled me, and I realized we'd come to a stop in front of our train station. There were a number of them in Moscow. Her echoing of my conversation with Dimitri sent chills down my spine-largely because she was right. The station didn't have the onion domes but still looked like something straight out of a storybook, like a cross between Cinderella's castle and a gingerbread house. It had a big arched roof and towers on either end. Its white walls were interspersed with patches of brown brick and green mosaic, almost making it look striped. In the U.S., some might have called it gaudy. To me, it was beautiful.**

**I felt tears start to spring to my eyes as I wondered what Dimitri would have said about this building. He probably would have loved it just as he loved everything else here. Realizing that Sydney was waiting for a response, I swallowed back my grief and played flippant teenager. "Maybe something from a story about a train station."**

I shook off my rising emotion with her joke, allowing myself to laugh, just a little. Lissa, Christian, Jill and Mia laughed too. The others were thoughtful.

**She arched an eyebrow, surprised at my indifference, but she didn't question it. Who could say? Maybe if I kept up the sarcasm, she'd eventually get annoyed and ditch me. Somehow, I doubted I'd be that lucky.**

Sydney sighed, shaking her head slightly.

** I was pretty sure her fear of her superiors trumped any other feelings she might have in regard to me.**

**We had first-class train accommodations, which turned out to be a lot smaller than I expected. There was a combination bed/sitting bench on each side, a window, and a TV high on the wall. I supposed that would help pass the time, but I often had trouble following Russian television-not just because of the language but also because some of the shows were downright bizarre. **

I grinned broadly, remembering the shows I'd grown up with.

**Still, Sydney and I would each have our own space, even if the room was cozier than we would have liked.**

**The colors reminded me a lot of the same fanciful patterns I'd seen throughout the cities. Even the hall outside our cabin was brightly colored, with plush carpet in red and yellow designs and a teal and yellow runner going down the middle. Inside our room, the benches were covered in cushions with rich orange velvet, and the curtains matched in shades of gold and peach, made of thick heavy fabric embossed with a silky pattern. Between all that and the ornate table in the middle of the cabin, it was almost like traveling in a mini-palace.**

**It was dark out by the time the train left the station. For whatever reason, the Trans-Siberian always left Moscow at night. It wasn't that late yet, but Sydney said she wanted to sleep, and I didn't want to make her more irate than she already was. So we turned off all the lights, save for a tiny reading lamp by my bed. I'd bought a magazine at the train station, and even if I couldn't understand the language, the pictures of makeup and clothes transcended all cultural barriers. I flipped through the pages as quietly as I could, admiring summer tops and dresses and wondering when -if ever-I'd be able to start worrying about that kind of thing again.**

**I wasn't tired when I lay down, but sleep took me nonetheless. I was dreaming about water-skiing when suddenly, the waves and sun around me dissolved into a room lined with shelves and shelves of books. Tables with state-of-the-art computers lined the rooms, and there was a calmness that permeated the place. I was in the library at St. Vladimir's Academy.**

**I groaned. "Oh, come on. Not today."**

**"Why not today? Why not every day?"**

**I turned and found myself looking into the handsome face of Adrian Ivashkov. **

Adrian grimaced.

**Adrian was a Moroi, the queen's great-nephew, and someone I'd left behind in my old life when I took off on this suicide mission. He had beautiful emerald-green eyes that made most girls swoon, particularly since they were paired with stylishly messy brown hair. He was also kind of in love with me and the reason I had so much money on this trip. I'd sweet talked him out of it.**

**"True," I admitted. "I suppose I should be grateful you only show up about once a week."**

**He grinned and sat down backward in one of the slatted wooden chairs. He was tall, like most Moroi, with a leanly muscled build. Moroi guys never got too bulky. "Absence makes the heart grow fonder, Rose. Don't want you to take me for granted."**

**"We're in no danger of that; don't worry."**

**"I don't suppose you're going to tell me where you are?"**

**"Nope."**

**Aside from Lissa, Adrian was the only other known living spirit user, and among his talents was the ability to show up in my dreams-often uninvited-and talk to me. I took it as a blessing that his powers never actually let him know where I was.**

**"You kill me, Rose," he said melodramatically. "Every day is agony without you. Empty. Alone. I pine for you, wondering if you're even still alive."**

**He spoke in an exaggerated, silly sort of way that was characteristic of him. Adrian rarely took things seriously and always had a flippant edge.**

**Spirit also had a tendency to make people unstable, and while he fought it, he wasn't unaffected. Underneath that melodrama, though, I sensed a kernel of truth. No matter how shallow an appearance he gave off, he really did care about me.**

I had a small burst of guilt. Adrian was a good guy and he did care. As happy as I was to have my Roza, I knew he'd been hurt in the process and I also knew what that felt like. I'd thought I'd lost her to him and it had been agonizing even more so knowing I'd driven her away.

**I crossed my arms. "Well, I'm still alive, clearly. So I guess you can let me go back to sleep."**

**"How many times have I told you? You are asleep."**

**"And yet I inexplicably feel exhausted talking to you."**

**This made him laugh. "Oh, I do so miss you." That smile faded. "She misses you too."**

**I stiffened. She. He didn't even need to say her name. There was no question as to whom he was talking about.**

**Lissa.**

**Even saying her name in my mind caused me pain, particularly after seeing her last night. Choosing between Lissa and Dimitri had been the hardest decision of my life, and time passing hadn't made it any easier. I might have chosen him, but being away from her was like having an arm cut off, particularly because the bond ensured we were never truly apart.**

**Adrian gave me a canny look, like he could guess my thoughts. "Do you go see her?"**

**"No," I said,**

"Liar, liar." Adrian mumbled.

**refusing to acknowledge that I'd just seen her last night. Let him think I was truly free of all that. "That's not my life anymore."**

**"Right. Your life is all about dangerous vigilante missions."**

He scoffed, "Judging from the beginning of this, not so dangerous."

**"You wouldn't understand anything that isn't drinking, smoking, or womanizing."**

**He shook his head. "You're the only one I want, Rose."**

I wasn't sure but when I glanced at Adrian I was fairly sure he was better now. I could tell from the way he looked at Rose he was still angry but I'd also seen the way he'd started to look at Sydney.., maybe… just maybe he was starting to get over Rose.

**Unfortunately, I believed him. It would have been easier for both of us if he could find someone else. **

"It really would have been." His hurt words dripped with anger.

**"Well, you can keep feeling that way, but you're going to have to keep waiting."**

**"Much longer?"**

**He asked me this all the time, and every time, I emphasized how long it would be and how he was wasting his time. Thinking of Sydney's possible lead, I hesitated tonight. "I don't know."**

**Hope blossomed on Adrian's face. "That's the most optimistic thing you've told me so far."**

**"Don't read too much into it. 'I don't know' could be one day or one year. Or never."**

**His mischievous grin returned, and even I had to admit it was cute. "I'm going to hope it's one day."**

**Thinking of Sydney brought a question to my mind. "Hey, have you ever heard of the Alchemists?"**

**"Sure," he said.**

**Typical. "Of course you have."**

**"Why? Did you run into them?"**

**"Kind of."**

**"What'd you do?"**

A few people chuckled, leave it to Rose to piss off the Alchemists.

**"Why do you think I did anything?"**

**He laughed. "Alchemists only show up when trouble happens, and you bring trouble wherever you go. Be careful, though. They're religious nuts."**

No one missed the glare Adrian received from Sydney. He gulped and smiled at her, "I didn't personally know a lot of Alchemist back then… I was an idiot?"

Sydney didn't remove the hardness in her eyes as she nodded slowly.

**"That's kind of extreme," I said. Sydney's faith didn't seem to be anything bad.**

**"Just don't let them convert you." He winked. "I like you being the sinner you are."**

Christian laughed, nearly falling off his seat.

**I started to tell him that Sydney probably thought I was beyond all salvation, but he ended the dream, sending me back to sleep.**

**Except, instead of returning to my own dreams, I woke up. Around me, the train hummed comfortingly as we sped through the Russian countryside. My reading lamp was still on, its light too bright for my sleepy eyes. I reached over to turn it off and noticed then that Sydney's bed was empty. Probably in the bathroom, I thought. Yet, I felt uneasy. She and her group of Alchemists were still mysteries, and I suddenly worried that she might have some sinister plan going on. **

Sydney scoffed.

**Was she off meeting with some covert operative? I decided to find her.**

"Trust issues." She muttered.

**Admittedly, I had no idea where she could be on a train of this size, but logic had never really deterred me before. No reason they should now.**

**Thankfully, after slipping on my shoes and stepping out in the hall adjacent to our cabin, I discovered I didn't have to look very far.**

**The corridor was lined with windows, all draped in those rich curtains, and Sydney stood with her back to me, gazing outside, a blanket wrapped around her. Her hair was messy from sleep and looked less gold in the poor lighting.**

**"Hey..." I began hesitantly. "Are you okay?"**

**She turned slightly toward me. One hand held the blanket; the other played with the cross around her neck. I remembered Adrian's comments about religion.**

**"I can't sleep," she said bluntly.**

**"Is it... is it because of me?"**

**Her only answer was to turn back to the window.**

**"Look," I said, feeling helpless. "If there's anything I can do... I mean, aside from going back and canceling this trip..."**

**"I'll handle it," she said. "This is just, well, it's really strange for me. I deal with you guys all the time, but I don't actually deal with you, you know?"**

"You're more comfortable now," Janine commented, gesturing to where she was.

"I am. Though it's still a work in progress." Sydney sighed.

**"We could probably get you a room of your own, if that would help. We can find an attendant, and I've got the money."**

**She shook her head. "It's just a couple of days, if that."**

**I didn't know what else to say. Having Sydney along was inconvenient in the grand scheme of my plans, but I didn't want her to suffer. Watching her play with the cross, I tried to think of something comforting to tell her. Bonding over our views of God might have been a way to get closer, but somehow, I didn't think telling her how I had daily battles with God and doubted His existence lately would really help me out with the whole evil creature-of-the-night reputation.**

A few people chuckled, "No, it probably wouldn't have." Christian said.

**"Okay," I said at last. "Let me know if you change your mind."**

**I returned to my bed and fell asleep surprisingly fast, despite worrying that Sydney would be standing in the hall all night. Yet, when I woke in the morning, she was curled up on her bed, fast asleep. Apparently, her exhaustion had been so strong that even fear of me had driven her to rest. I got up quietly and changed out of the T-shirt and sweatpants I'd gone to bed in. I was hungry for breakfast and figured Sydney might sleep longer if I wasn't around.**

**The restaurant was in the next car over and looked like something out of an old movie. Elegant burgundy linens draped the tables, and brass and dark wood, along with bits of bright-colored stained glass art, gave the whole place an antique feel. It looked more like a restaurant I'd find on the streets of Saint Petersburg than a train dining car. I ordered something that reminded me vaguely of french toast, except that it had cheese on it. It came with sausage, which thus far seemed to be the same everywhere I went.**

Only Rose would pay this much attention to her food. I thought back to the keepers and her hesitance with their food. Yes, fearlessly fighting the undead but when it came to new foods Rose was a chicken.

**I was just about finished when Sydney wandered in. When I'd met her that first night, I'd assumed her dress pants and blouse had been for the sake of the Nightingale. I was discovering, however, that that was her normal style. **

We all glanced to Sydney and her outfit. Yeah, it was her style.

**She struck me as one of those people who didn't own jeans or T-shirts. She'd been mussed while standing in the hall last night, but now she was in neat black slacks and a dark green sweater. I was in jeans and a long-sleeved gray thermal shirt and felt kind of sloppy beside her. Her hair was brushed and styled but had a slightly messy look that I suspected never went away, no matter how hard she tried. At least I had my sleek ponytail going for me today.**

**She slid across from me and ordered an omelet when the server came by, again speaking in Russian.**

**"How do you know that?" I asked.**

**"What, Russian?" She shrugged. "I had to learn it growing up. And a few other languages."**

**"Wow." I had taken intros to a couple of languages too and performed miserably in all of them. I hadn't thought much of it at the time, but now, because of this trip and because of Dimitri, I really wished I'd learned Russian. I supposed it wasn't too late, and I had picked up a few phrases in my time here, but still… it was a daunting task.**

Maybe I should teach Rose somethings…

**"You must have to learn a lot of stuff for this job," I mused, pondering what it must mean to be part of a secret group that crossed international lines and interacted with all sorts of governments. Something else crossed my mind. "And what about that stuff you used on the Strigoi? That disintegrated the body?"**

**She smiled. Almost. "Well, I told you the Alchemists started off as a group of people trying to make potions, right? That's a chemical we developed to get rid of Strigoi bodies fast."**

**"Could you use it to actually kill one?" I asked. Dousing a Strigoi in some dissolving liquid would be a lot easier than the usual ways: decapitation, staking, or burning.**

**"Afraid not. Only works on corpses."**

**"Bummer," I said. I wondered if she had other potions up her sleeve but figured I should ration my amount of Sydney questions for the day. **

Sydney actually chuckled at this.

**"What are we going to do when we get to Omsh?"**

**"Omsk," she corrected. "We'll get a car and drive the rest of the way."**

**"Have you been there? To this village?"**

**She nodded. "Once."**

**"What's it like?" I asked, surprised to hear a wistful note in my own voice. Aside from my quest to find Dimitri, there was a piece of me that just wanted to cling to everything I could of him. I wanted to know everything about him that I hadn't known before. If the school had given me his possessions, I would have slept with them each night. His room had been cleared out pretty quickly, though. Now I could only gather what pieces of him I could, as though hoarding these bits of information would keep him with me somehow.**

Had the roles been reversed, yeah, I would have done the same.

**"It's like any other dhampir town, I guess."**

**"I've never been to one."**

**The server set Sydney's omelet down, and she paused with her fork in the air. "Really? I thought all of you... well, I don't know."**

**I shook my head. "I've been at the Academy my whole life. More or less." My two-year stint among humans wasn't really relevant.**

**Sydney chewed thoughtfully. I was willing to wager she wouldn't finish the omelet. From what I'd seen that first night and while waiting for trains yesterday, she hardly seemed to eat anything. It was like she subsisted on air alone. **

Now, Sydney outright laughed. Joined by Adrian, Jill and Eddie.

**Maybe it was another Alchemist thing. Most likely it was just a Sydney thing.**

**"The town is half-human and half-dhampir, but the dhampirs blend in. They have a whole underground society that the humans are completely oblivious to."**

My words were cut off by a sound to my left. Immediately, I put myself in front of both Christian and Lissa, joined by Janine who also half blocked Abe. Eddie was in front of Jill and Adrian had gone to Sydney, pulling her behind him, interesting. I didn't contemplate it for long, my eyes fixed on the door. A laugh echoed into the room. Roza. Instantly I relaxed as she entered.

"Rose!" Lissa yelled, a joyed smile on her lips.

Rose smiled back and held the door open as two more people came in.

"Viktoria? Paul?" I didn't bother to hid my surprise as I walked around the couch to greet them, "What are you doing here?"

"Uncle Dimika!" Paul laughed running the few steps toward me and wrapping his arms around me.

"Everyone," Rose smiled, "This is Viktoria and Paul, Dimitri's sister and nephew."

Viktoria looked to me, "I graduated and came her to get my assignment, Paul snuck on the plane and came as a stowaway."

I laughed looking down at the boy who gave me a sheepish smile.

Lissa spoke from beside Rose, "Thats where you went?"

Rose nodded, "They got off the plane and Viktoria knew I was around her somewhere so she had Hanz track me down so I could keep an eye on him." She looked at Paul hands on hips, he stuck his tongue out at her and twisted around me… using me as a shield. Every one laughed at Rose's and Paul's exchange. "So, I stuck around to wait for the formalities to be done and now here we are."

Victoria looked at everyone for the first time really and I saw her eyes widen as she landed on Lissa, the queen. She looked confused for the moment, unsure what to do and gave a small bow, "Your highness."

Lissa nearly gaged, "Lissa, please."

Viktoria went around meeting everyone, shaking their hand and learning each name.

I picked up my nephew and introduced him to everyone. And we seated our selves listening to the story of how little Paul managed to sneak onto a plane, hid in the bathroom until the plane started taxing down the runway only to pick an empty seat till halfway through when he made his presence known to Viktoria. It was almost an hour later when Rose asked how far we'd gotten in the books and had to explain to Viktoria what was going on.

"You and Sydney are eating breakfast right before Omsk." Christian said flipping through the pages.

"Your whole life? In a bunch of books?" Viktoria asked, still unsure.

"No, not all- just the… Important stuff." Rose replied simply.

"Am I in it?" Viktoria asked excitedly. Rose looked thoughtful for a moment, "Yeah, It's probably not long now… we went to the farm house after we got a car in Omsk."

Sydney sighed and mumbled, "That was a good car."

Rose smiled and continued, "Then, after the fight at the farm house I woke up in Dimitri's bed so, another day or so before we get to the part with you."

I raised my eyebrow, my bed? Rose smiled at me.

"Oooo!" Viktoria cried, "Lets read then!"

I rolled my eyes and took the book from Christian, finishing the last few lines of the Chapter,

**I'd always figured there was a whole subculture going on, but I'd had no idea how it would fit into the rest of the town. "And?" I asked. "What's that subculture like?"**

**She set her fork down. "Let's just say you'd better brace yourself."**

"Whose next?" I asked and Janine motioned for the book,

"Me."

A/N, So, I kinda went crazy with this one... and the next one... Did you like this one? And yeah, I know, Paul's older than I imagined him but I realized this after i'd written this chapter, and the next two so I REALLY didn't want to go back and rewrite it. Bare with me?


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer, Richelle Mead owns these characters. **

**Chapter 5 **

**The rest of the trip passed uneventfully. **

"Surprise surprise." Adrian muttered laying his head in his hand, propped on his elbow.

**Sydney never entirely lost that discomfort she seemed to have around me, but sometimes, while I was trying to figure out Russian television, **

"Ugh," Rose shook her head beside me, "Russian's weird."

Viktoria and I caught eyes and she nodded, I reached out aiming to grab her wrists to restrain her but Rose was up within a fraction of a second. She looked between us, "I mean Russian's cool, yeah totally awesome." She said backing up to the other couch seating herself next to Lissa, using her a shield.

"Hey what?" Lissa cried, "You're suppose to protect me!"

Everyone began laughing but Janine just shook her head exasperatedly, trying to focus on the words and raising her voice slightly.

**she'd take the time to explain what was going on. There were some cultural differences between these shows and the ones we'd both grown up with, so we had that in common. **

I assumed Rose would return to her spot but she stayed squished between Lissa and Christian. Something he was not looking pleased about. I looked at Rose raising an eyebrow. She grinned at me and shook her head. It was uncanny how well I could understand her and I was willing to bet our internal conversion was going something like this:

_Come on Roza, come back. _

**Every once in a while, she'd crack a smile over something we both found funny, and I'd sense there was someone in there I could possibly be friends with. I knew there was no way I'd ever find a replacement for Lissa, but I think some part of me still longed to fill the void of friendship that had been opened up when I left her behind.**

_No way man, I can see a plot smouldering in your eyes… _

_Nope, I swear. No plans here. _

**Sydney napped throughout the day, and I began to think she was just an insomniac with bizarre sleep patterns. She also continued her equally odd treatment of food, hardly touching her meals.**

_Oh really? _

_Yes. _

_I don't believe you. _

I chuckled to myself and Sydney looked at me confused. I replayed what the book had just said and shook my head at her moving my eyes to Rose and back to her. I think she understood.

Looking back to Rose, she wore a smug grin and I narrowed my eyes.

_I don't have a plan _

She gave me a suspicious look and slowly stood, returning to her original seat. Christian immediately closed the gap pulling Lissa to him again.

** She always let me have the leftovers and was a bit more adventurous with Russian cuisine. I'd had to experiment when I first arrived, and it was nice to have the guidance of someone who, though not a local, knew a lot more about this country than me.**

"Revenge will be sweet tonight." I whispered just low enough for Rose to hear and her eyes went wide.

"You wouldn't…" She looked me directly in the eye and smiled. She knew as well as I, no, I wouldn't.

**On the third day of our trip, we arrived in Omsk. **

"Finally!" Adrian said tipping his head back, "When do we get to the interesting parts? Meaning, with me."

Everyone rolled their eyes.

**Omsk was a larger and prettier city than I'd expected of Siberia. Dimitri had always teased me that my images of Siberia looking like Antarctica were wrong, and I could tell that he was right-at least as far as the southern part of the region was concerned. **

I laughed, looking down at Rose, "Really?" She only shrugged.

**The weather wasn't much different from what I'd have found in Montana this time of year, cool spring air occasionally warmed by sunshine.**

**Sydney had told me when we got there, she'd get us a ride from some Moroi she knew. Several lived in the city, blending in with the large population. Yet as the day went on, we discovered a problem. No Moroi would take us to the village. Apparently, the road was dangerous. Strigoi often hung out near it at night, hoping to catch traveling Moroi or dhampirs. The more Sydney explained it, the more worried I became about my plan. Apparently, there weren't many Strigoi in Dimitri's town itself. According to her, they lurked on the town's periphery, but few lived out there permanently. If that was the case, my odds of finding Dimitri had dropped. Things got even worse as Sydney continued describing the situation.**

**"A lot of Strigoi travel the country looking for victims, and the village is just an area they pass through," she explained. "The road is kind of remote, so some Strigoi will stay for a while and try to get easy prey. Then they move on."**

**"In the U.S., Strigoi often hide in large cities," I said uneasily.**

**"They do that here too. It's easier for them to take victims without being noticed."**

**Yes, this definitely threw a wrench into my plans. If Dimitri wasn't residing in this town, I was going to have some serious problems. I'd known Strigoi liked big cities, but somehow, I'd convinced myself Dimitri would return to the place where he grew up.**

I felt a shutter run through my body. If _he _had gone there I was convinced my family would have ended up dead. I tightened my grip on Rose.

**But if Dimitri wasn't there... well, suddenly, the enormity of Siberia hit me. I'd learned Omsk wasn't even the biggest city in the region, and finding even one Strigoi here could be hard. Looking for him in any number of cities that might be larger? Things could get very, very ugly if my hunch proved wrong.**

**Since setting out to find Dimitri, I'd occasionally had weak moments in which I half-hoped I'd never find him. The idea of him as a Strigoi still tormented me. **

I pulled Rose closer, wishing for the millionth time I could go back. Rose laced her fingers with mine, calming me. I couldn't go back, all I could do was move on and try to make things right.

**I was also visited by other images... images of the way he'd been and memories of the time we'd spent together.**

**I think my most precious memory was of just before he was turned. **

I raised my eyebrow to her and she replied with a brilliant smile. I smiled too. Right before I'd been forced to awaken we'd slept together for the first time. It was a great memory but I wouldn't call it the most precious. Of course, its possible it was hers, My own was when she told me, even after everything I'd said and done to her- she loved me. I'd pushed her away, tortured her as a strigoi, but she'd forgiven me. However, that night hadn't happened in the books yet…

**It was one of those times when I'd sucked up a lot of the spirit-induced darkness from Lissa. I'd been out of control, unable to get a grip. I was afraid of becoming a monster, afraid of killing myself like another shadow kissed guardian had.**

"Anna," Rose whispered beside me, staring at our intwined hands.

"What?" Jill asked, obviously frightened.

Rose didn't have to worry about that for herself anymore but I knew she worried for Lissa and Jill a thousand times more than she'd ever had for herself.

"Anna, Saint Vald's guardian, remember? We talked about it a few weeks ago." Rose gave Jill a half smile, sympathetic.

"Oh" Jill nodded though I had a feeling she didn't remember all that much. Rose looked like she was thinking the same thing.

**Dimitri had brought me back to myself, lending me his strength. I'd realized then just how strong our connection was, how perfectly we understood each other. **

Rose turned her head to me and I cupped her face in my hands, bringing our lips together for a soft kiss. Abe and Janine, I knew, were watching me carefully so I pulled away. Rose frowned, glaring at both of them. Janine continued to read,

**I'd been skeptical about people being soul mates in the past, but at that moment, I knew it was true. And with that emotional connection had come a physical one. Dimitri and I had finally given in to the attraction. We'd sworn we never would, but... well, our feelings were just too strong. Staying away from each other had turned out to be impossible. We'd had sex, and it had been my first time ever. Sometimes I felt certain it would be my only time.**

My mother looked pained, "Um… maybe you should read this," Her eyes scanned the rest of the page. She looked almost desperate, begging Rose.

Rose couldn't help but smile, "Okay mom."

She took the book and picked up half way down the page. I followed, reading over her shoulder.

**The act itself had been amazing,**

Yes, it had.

** and I'd been unable to separate the physical joy from the emotional. Afterward, we'd lain together in that small cabin for as long as we dared, and that had been amazing too. It had been one of the few moments where I'd felt he was truly mine.**

**"Do you remember Victor's lust charm?" I had asked, snuggling closer against him.**

I smiled at the memory. Both of that night and the day she'd asked me in the cabin. How could I forget it?

**Dimitri looked at me like I was crazy. "Of course."**

**Victor Dashkov was a royal Moroi, one who had been friends with Lissa and her family. Little did we know that he'd secretly studied spirit for years and had identified Lissa as a spirit user before she even knew. He'd tortured her with all sorts of mind games that truly made her think she was going crazy. His schemes had fully culminated in his kidnapping and torturing her until she healed the disease that was killing him.**

Rose hesitated before reading the next line. She hadn't told anyone, not even Lissa about what had happened to Victor and I knew it still took it's toll. No one but me and maybe Jill paid the hesitation any attention.

**Victor was now in prison for life, both for what he'd done to Lissa and because of his treasonous plans for rebellion against the Moroi government.**

**He had been one of the few to know about my relationship with Dimitri, something that had worried me to no end. He'd even furthered our relationship by creating a lust charm-a necklace infused with earth and compulsion. The charm was full of dangerous magic that had made Dimitri and me give into our most basic instincts. We had pulled back at the last moment, and until our night in the cabin, I had believed our charm induced encounter to be the ultimate physical high.**

**"I didn't realize it could get better," I had told Dimitri after we'd actually slept together. I felt a little shy talking about it. "I thought about it all the time... what happened between us."**

**He turned to me, tugging the covers up. The cabin was cold, but its bed had warm blankets. I suppose we could have put clothes on, but that was the last thing I wanted to do. Being pressed skin-to-skin felt too good.**

Janine had her eyes closed and she was whispering an inaudible chant to herself. I suspected it was something like, 'She's an adult, she loves him, don't freak out.' Abe however had a deep fire in his eyes that made me want to combust from the pit of my stomach.

**"I did too."**

**"You did?" I asked, surprised. "I thought... I don't know. I thought you were too disciplined for that. I thought you'd try to forget it."**

**Dimitri laughed and kissed my neck. "Rose, how could I forget being naked with someone as beautiful as you? **

I took a risk and leaned down to kiss her, just under her ear whispering as I brought my head back, "I could never forget." Rose's eyes had closed, wrapping herself in this moment-just as I was. Until Abe cleared his throat and Rose sighed, reading again.

**I stayed awake so many nights, replaying every detail. I told myself over and over that it was wrong, but you're impossible to forget." His lips moved to my collarbone, and his hand stroked my hip. "You're burned into my mind forever. There is nothing, nothing in this world that will ever change that."**

**And it was memories like that that made it so hard to comprehend this quest to kill him, even if he was a Strigoi. Yet... at the same time, it was exactly because of memories like that that I had to destroy him. I needed to remember him as the man who'd loved me and held me in bed. I needed to remember that that man would not want to stay a monster.**

Rose stopped then looked at her mother and tried to swallow her laughter, "Mom, your turn again."

Janine took the book and looked relieved when she began reading again.

**I wasn't very excited when Sydney showed me the car she'd bought, particularly since I'd given her the money for it.**

Cars Janine could handle, her daughter sex life- not so much.

**"We're going in that?" I exclaimed. "Can it even make it that far?" The trip was apparently seven hours.**

**She gave me a shocked look. "Are you serious? Do you know what this is? It's a 1972 Citroen. **

Sydney hummed in her seat with her eyes closed, "A great car."

**These things are amazing. Do you have any idea how hard it would have been to get this into the country back in the Soviet days? I can't believe that guy actually sold it. He's clueless."**

**I knew little about the Soviet era and even less about classic cars, but Sydney stroked the shiny red hood like she was in love. Who would have guessed? She was a car geek. Maybe it was valuable, and I just couldn't appreciate it. I was more into sleek, brand-new sports cars. To be fair, this car didn't have any dents or rust, and aside from an outdated look, it appeared clean and well cared for.**

**"Will it run?" I asked.**

**If possible, her expression grew even more incredulous. "Of course!"**

**And it did. The engine sprang to life with a steady hum, and with the way it accelerated, I started to understand her fascination. She wanted to drive, and I was about to argue that it had been my money that bought it. Seeing the adoring look on her face, though, I finally decided not to come between her and the car.**

"Good idea," Eddie chuckled, "From the sounds of it, had you denied her you wouldn't have lived pass this chapter."

Rose looked to Sydney to deny it but Sydney just shrugged. Couldn't dream of disobeying an order but kill Rose for a car, yeah, that was plausible.

**I was just glad we were leaving right away. It was already late afternoon. If the road was as dangerous as everyone claimed, we wouldn't want to be out there while it was dark. Sydney agreed but said we could get most of the trip in before sundown and then stay overnight at a place she knew. We'd arrive at our destination in the morning.**

**The farther we drove from Omsk, the more remote the terrain became. As I studied it, I began to understand Dimitri's love of this land. It had a scrubby, barren look, true, but spring was turning the plains green, and there was something hauntingly beautiful about seeing all this untouched wilderness. It reminded me of Montana in some ways yet had a certain quality that was all its own.**

Rose got up and started her way to the kitchen, "Anyone want a drink?" She asked.

There was a muffle of no thanks and sures and Lissa rose to help Rose as Janine kept reading,

**I couldn't help but use Sydney's crush on the car as a means of conversation. "Do you know a lot about cars?" I asked.**

**"Some," she said. "My dad's the Alchemist in our family, but my mom's a mechanic."**

When Rose returned she received a glare from her mother, raised eyebrow from me and a shocked look from Eddie.

"The queen's personal guardian in the middle of political uproar and your having a beer?"

Rose sat down again smiling in the same mischievous way she undoubtably got from her father, "Yup."

Eddie opened his mouth to say something else but Rose held up her hand, "You know what Castile, I bet even after 3 of these I can still take you down so mind what you say."

He processed that for a moment then a grin stretched from ear to ear, "Challenge accepted."

"You are so going down." Rose replied with the same grin. I suppressed the urge to knock myself in the face with the heel of my hand, thinking, _this is the girl I trained_…

Janine shook her head, sighing. But continued without further comment.

**"Really?" I asked, surprised. "That's kind of... unusual." Of course, I was hardly one to talk about gender roles. Considering my life was dedicated to fighting and killing, I couldn't really claim to have a traditionally feminine job either.**

**"She's really good and taught me a lot. I wouldn't have minded doing that for a living. Wouldn't have minded going to college, either." There was a bitter note in her voice. "I guess there are a lot of other things I wish I could do."**

Sydney shifted uncomfortably as others shot her sympathetic smiles.

**"Why can't you?"**

**"I had to be the next family Alchemist. My sister... well, she's older, and usually it's the oldest kid who has to do the job. But, she's kind of… worthless."**

"Ouch." Mia and Jill said together.

**"That's harsh."**

**"Yeah, maybe. But she just couldn't handle this kind of thing. When it comes to organizing her lip gloss collection, she's unstoppable. But managing the kinds of networks and people we do? No, she'd never be able to do it. Dad said I was the only one capable of it."**

**"That's a compliment, at least."**

Somehow I doubted that.

**"I guess."**

**Sydney looked so sad now that I felt bad for bringing it up. "If you could go to college, what would you study?"**

**"Greek and Roman architecture."**

"Of course," Rose added sarcastically, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

**I decided then it was a good thing I wasn't behind the wheel, because I probably would have driven off the road. "Seriously?"**

**"You know anything about it?"**

**"Um, no."**

**"It's amazing." The sad expression was replaced by one of wonder-she looked nearly as enamored as she'd been of the car. I understood then why she'd liked the train station. "The ingenuity it took for some of that... well, it's just unreal. If the Alchemists won't send me back to the U.S. after this, I'm hoping I'll get assigned to Greece or Italy."**

Abe looked at her, "Would you like to be assigned elsewhere? I could have a few words with some people."

A shutter ran through Sydney's whole body, "No, no thank you."

Rose laughed, "No way she's selling her soul twice, old man."

He raised an eyebrow, hiding a smile.

**"That would be cool."**

**"Yeah." Her smile faded. "But there are no guarantees you'll get what you want with this job."**

**She fell silent after that, and I decided that coaxing her into this small conversation had been victory enough. I left her to her own thoughts of classic cars and architecture while my mind wandered to topics of my own. Strigoi. Duty. Dimitri. Always Dimitri…**

"I love Dimitri…" Rose stated absent-mindedly. I looked to the Drink in her hand… it was almost gone. Rose had experimented with a lot of alcohol since I don't know how young but she wasn't exactly a 'drink you under the table girl' (Not that I'd ever tell her, she liked believing she could compete with the best of them) and shot-gunning a Vodka mix wasn't going to help her in the bet with Eddie.

Eddie seemed to come to the same concussion, "How you feeling Rose?"

"Like I could kick your ass"

"We'll see about that. 2 more to go."

**Well, Dimitri and Lissa. It was always a toss-up over who would cause me more pain. Today, as the car lulled me into a daze, it was Lissa I went to, thanks largely to Adrian's recent visit in my dream.**

**Early evening in Russia meant early morning in Montana. Of course, since the school ran on a nocturnal schedule, it was technically night for them too in spite of the sunshine. It was nearly curfew, and everyone would have to return to their own dorms soon.**

**Lissa was with Adrian, over in his room in guest housing. Adrian, like Avery, had graduated, but as the only other known spirit user, he'd come to stay indefinitely at the school and work with Lissa. They'd just spent a long, exhausting evening working on dream walking and sat on the floor facing each other. With a sigh, Lissa collapsed back and lay down, stretching her arms over her head.**

**"This is useless," she groaned. "I'm never going to learn it."**

Lissa's head snapped up and she looked at Rose, "You never did tell me who had been visiting you the first day I managed it…" Rose's response was automatic, she froze. Rose hadn't mentioned any one visiting her to me… My eyes flicked to Adrian but he was looking at Lissa and Rose too, just as confused as I was.

"We'll talk about it later," she replied shrugging. That wasn't good. The last secret Rose had been hiding from Lissa was Jill… and Victor. If Rose had a secret from Lissa I knew it was a big deal. I would have to ask her in private.

**"Never took you for a quitter, cousin." Adrian's voice was as flippant as usual, but I could tell he was weary too. They weren't really cousins; that was just a term royals sometimes used with each other.**

**"I just don't understand how you do it."**

**"I don't know how to explain it. I just think about it, and… well, it happens." **

"Cause thats clear as mud." Jill scoffed.

**He shrugged and pulled out the cigarettes he always carried. "Do you mind?"**

**"Yes," she said. To my surprise, he put them away. What the hell? He'd never asked me if I minded if he smoked-which I did. **

Everyone turned to Adrian, he gave no response save for a simple shrug.

**In fact, half the time, I swore he did it to annoy me, which made no sense. Adrian was way past the age when guys tried to attract girls they liked by picking on them.**

"Or was I?" Adrian asked comically.

**He tried to explain the process. "I just think about who I want and sort of... I don't know. Expand my mind toward them."**

**Lissa sat up and crossed her legs. "Sounds a lot like how Rose described reading me."**

**"Probably the same principle. Look, it took you a while to learn auras. This is no different. And you're not the only one with a learning curve. I'm only now finally moving past healing scratches, and you can bring back the dead, which-call me crazy-is kind of hard-core." **

"It's not as fun as I thought it would be…" he said, all humour gone from his eyes and voice.

He looked at Jill and she nodded, "I'm glad you did though."

**He paused. "Of course, some would argue that I am actually crazy."**

**At the mention of auras, she studied him and summoned the ability to see the field of light that shone around every living thing. His aura came into focus, surrounding him in a golden glow. According to Adrian, her aura was the same. No other Moroi had that kind of pure gold. Lissa and Adrian figured it was unique to spirit users.**

"Weird that I couldn't see it in Avery's…" Lissa mumbled.

"She kept you fairly intoxicated, Liss." Rose suggested.

It didn't really cheer Lissa up.

**He smiled, guessing what she was doing. "How's it look?"**

**"The same."**

**"See how good you are at it now? Just be patient with the dreams."**

**Lissa wanted so badly to walk dreams the same way he could. Despite her disappointment, I was glad she couldn't.**

"I can now," she insisted.

** Adrian's dream visits were hard enough on me. Seeing her would... well, I wasn't entirely sure, but it would make this cool, hard attitude I was trying to maintain in Russia a lot harder.**

**"I just want to know how she is," said Lissa in a small voice. "I can't stand not knowing." It was the conversation with Christian all over again.**

**"I saw her the other day. She's fine. And I'll go again soon."**

**Lissa nodded. "Do you think she'll do it? Do you think she can kill Dimitri?"**

**Adrian took a long time in answering. "I think she can. The question will be if it kills her in the process."**

**Lissa flinched, and I was a bit surprised. The answer was as blunt as one Christian might give. "God, I wish she hadn't decided to go after him."**

**"Wishing's useless now. Rose has got to do this. It's the only way we can get her back." He paused. "It's the only way she'll be able to move on."**

**Adrian surprised me sometimes, but this took the prize. Lissa thought it was foolish and suicidal to go after Dimitri. I knew Sydney would agree if I told her the truth about this trip. But Adrian… silly, shallow, party-boy Adrian understood?**

I saw Adrian catch Rose's eye and she frowned, turning away. I'd always had mixed feelings about Adrian, well, after I'd been restored. He was in love with my Roza, yes but he'd helped her when she'd needed it. He'd been the one there for her when I couldn't be; when I hadn't been. I felt I'd owed him gratitude but when he did things like that; give Rose a simple look that shot daggers into her wounds… all I felt was rage. She hadn't meant to hurt him, neither of us had. He was only making it harder for her when he didn't need to. And all I could do was pull Rose tighter against my side, comfort her and hope Adrian would realize, it was for the best.

** Studying him through Lissa's eyes, I realized he actually did. He didn't like it, and I could hear the hurt in his words. He cared about me. My having such strong feelings for someone else caused him pain. And yet... he truly believed that I was doing the right thing-the only thing I could do.**

**Lissa looked at the clock. "I've got to go before curfew. I should probably study for my history test, too."**

**Adrian grinned. "Studying's overrated. Just find someone smart to copy off."**

Lissa rolled her eyes at him.

**She stood up. "Are you saying I'm not smart?"**

**"Hell no." He rose also and went to pour himself a drink from the fully stocked bar he kept on hand. Self-medicating was his irresponsible way of keeping spirit's effects at bay, and if he'd been using spirit all night, he would want the numbness of his vices. "You're the smartest person I know.**

**But that doesn't mean you have to do unnecessary work."**

**"You can't succeed in life if you don't work. Copying from others won't get you anywhere."**

**"Whatever," he said with a grin. "I copied all through school, and look how well I'm doing today."**

**With an eye roll, Lissa gave him a quick hug goodbye and left. Once out of his sight, her smile faded a bit. In fact, her thoughts took a decidedly dark turn. Mentioning me had stirred up all sorts of feelings within. She was worried about me-desperately worried. She'd told Christian that she felt bad about what had happened between us, but the full force of that didn't hit me until now. She was racked by guilt and confusion, continually berating herself for what she should have done. And above all, she missed me. She had that same feeling I did-like a part of her had been cut out.**

**Adrian lived on the fourth floor, and Lissa opted for the stairs rather than the elevator. All the while, her mind spun with worry. Worries about whether she'd ever master spirit. Worry for me. Worry that she wasn't currently feeling spirit's dark side effects, which made her wonder if I was absorbing them, just as a guardian named Anna had. She'd lived centuries ago and was bonded to St. Vladimir, the school's namesake. She'd absorbed spirit's nasty effects from him-and had been driven insane.**

Rose and Jill shuttered.

**On the second floor, Lissa could make out the sounds of shouting, even through the door that separated the stairwell from the hallway. Despite knowing it had nothing to do with her, she hesitated, curiosity getting the best of her. A moment later, she quietly pushed the door open and stepped into the hall. The voices were coming from around the corner. She carefully peered around it-not that she needed to. She recognized the voices.**

**Avery Lazar stood in the hallway, hands on her hips as she stared at her father. He stood in the doorway to what must have been his suite. Their stances were rigid and hostile, and anger crackled between them.**

"Family drama alert," Rose said emotionlessly.

**"I'll do what I want," she yelled. "I'm not your slave."**

**"You're my daughter," he said in a voice both calm and condescending. "Though at times I wish you weren't."**

"Ouch," Everyone said together.

**Ouch. Both Lissa and I were shocked.**

**"Then why are you making me stay in this hellhole? Let me go back to Court!"**

**"And embarrass me further? We barely got out without damaging this family's reputation-much. No way am I going to send you there alone and let you do God knows what."**

"No, he's going to keep her there so she can try to kill the Dragomir Princess." Rose's voice turned bitter, "I really don't like her."

**"Then send me to Mom! Switzerland's got to be better than this place."**

**There was a pause. "Your mother is... busy."**

**"Oh, nice," said Avery, voice heavy with sarcasm. "That's a polite way of saying she doesn't want me. No surprise. I'd just interfere with her and that guy she's sleeping with."**

**"Avery!" His voice rang out loud and angry. Lissa flinched and stepped back. "This conversation is done. Get back to your room and sober up before someone sees you. I expect you at breakfast tomorrow, and I expect you to be respectable. We have some important visitors."**

**"Yeah, and God knows we've got to keep up appearances."**

**"Go to your room," he repeated. "Before I call Simon and make him drag you there."**

**"Yes, sir," she simpered. "Right away, sir. Anything you say, sir."**

**And with that, he slammed the door. Lissa, ducking back behind the corner, could hardly believe he'd said those things to his own daughter. For a few moments, there was silence. Then, Lissa heard the sound of footsteps-coming toward her. Avery suddenly rounded the corner and stopped in front of Lissa, giving us our first good look of her.**

"Another Rose?" Eddie asked holding up the last of the 3 promised drinks.

"lets do this," Rose said taking the drink and opening.

Janine did her best to continue reading as if without interruption.

**Avery was wearing a tight, short dress made of some kind of blue fabric that shone silvery in the light. Her hair hung long and wild, and the tears pouring from her blue-gray eyes had destroyed the heavy makeup she wore. The scent of alcohol came through loud and clear. She hastily ran a hand over her eyes, obviously embarrassed at being seen like this.**

**"Well," she said flatly. "I guess you overheard our family drama."**

**Lissa felt equally embarrassed at being caught spying. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I was just passing by..."**

**Avery gave a harsh laugh. "Well, I don't think it matters. Probably everyone in the building heard us."**

**"I'm sorry," Lissa repeated.**

**"Don't be. You didn't do anything wrong."**

**"No... I mean, I'm sorry he... you know, said those things to you."**

**"It's part of being a 'good' family. Everyone's got skeletons in their closet." Avery crossed her arms and leaned against the wall. Even upset and messy, she was beautiful. "God, I hate him sometimes. No offense, but this place is so fucking boring. I found some sophomore guys to hang with tonight, but... they were pretty boring too. The only thing they had going for them was their beer."**

**"Why... why did your dad bring you here?" Lissa asked. "Why aren't you... I don't know, in college?"**

**Avery gave a harsh laugh. "He doesn't trust me enough. When we were at Court, I got involved with this cute guy who worked there-total nonroyal, of course. Dad freaked out and was afraid people would find out. So when he got the job here, he brought me along to keep an eye on me and torture me. I think he's afraid I'll run off with a human if I go to college." She sighed. "I swear to God, if Reed wasn't here, I'd just run away, period."**

**Lissa didn't say anything for a long time. She'd gone out of her way to avoid Avery diligently. With all the orders the queen was giving Lissa lately, this seemed the only way Lissa could fight back and stop herself from being controlled. But now, she wondered if she'd been wrong about Avery.**

"Not even close," both Lissa and Rose said together.

**Avery didn't seem like a spy for Tatiana. She didn't seem like someone who wanted to mold Lissa into a perfect royal. Mostly, Avery seemed like a sad, hurting girl, whose life was spinning out of control. Someone who was being ordered around as much as Lissa was lately.**

**With a deep breath, Lissa rushed forward with her next words. "Do you want to eat lunch with Christian and me tomorrow? No one would mind if you came to our lunch period. I can't promise it'll be, um, as exciting as you want."**

**Avery smiled again, but this time, it was less bitter. "Well, my other plans were to get drunk by myself in my room." She lifted a bottle of what looked like whiskey out of her purse. "Scored some stuff of my own."**

**Lissa wasn't entirely sure what kind of an answer that was. "So... I'll see you at lunch?"**

**Now Avery hesitated. But slowly, a faint gleam of hope and interest appeared on her face. Concentrating, Lissa tried to bring up her aura. She had a little difficulty at first, probably worn out from all the practice with Adrian tonight. But when she was finally able to get a grip on Avery's aura, she saw it was a mix of colors: green, blue, and gold. Not uncommon. It was currently ringed in red, as often happened when people were upset. But right before Lissa's eyes, that redness faded.**

**"Yeah," Avery said at last. "That would be great."**

"And so it begins." Rose sighed.

**"I think this is as far as we can go today."**

**On the other side of the world, Sydney's voice startled me out of Lissa's thoughts. I didn't know how long I'd been daydreaming, but Sydney had turned off the main highway and was driving us into a small town that fit perfectly with my backwoods images of Siberia. In fact, "town" was a total exaggeration. There were a few scattered houses, a store, and a gas station. Farmland stretched beyond the buildings, and I saw more horses than cars. The few people who were out stared at our car in amazement. The sky had turned deep orange, and the sun was sinking farther and farther into the horizon. Sydney was right. It was nearly nightfall, and we needed to be off the road.**

**"We're only a couple hours away at most," she continued. "We made really good time and should get there pretty quickly in the morning." She drove to the other side of the village-which took, like, a minute-and pulled up in front of a plain white house with a barn beside it. "Here's where we're staying."**

**We got out of the car and approached the house. "Are these friends of yours?"**

**"Nope. Never met them. But they're expecting us."**

Rose took the last swallow of her drink in her hand and looked excitedly to Eddie, "Ready?" He nodded eagerly, "Lets do this."

We cleared some furniture and made a small "viewing area" for the rest of us.

Rose wasn't drunk but I could see her movements were slower and more choppy than they normally were. She hadn't had much to eat lately. I suspected that her ego would be more of a liability than the alcohol. Eddie and Rose circled a few times and for a moment I thought they were just going to laugh and sit down again. Honestly, I should have known better. Eddie took the first swing and was blocked by Rose. It was an easy attack, one of the very basic. Eddie appeared to be going easy on her. She growled, obviously as aware of this as I was. She responded with kicks and jabs, executed with only a fraction of her skill. Eddie was smiling as he blocked each one. It occurred to me then that Rose didn't know Eddie and I had been training together in Palm Springs. I could see the realization creeping up on Rose's is until she got him in the gut with a right hook and took him to the ground. I couldn't tell if he was actually in pain or just shock. It was Rose's turn to smile, she almost had him pinned. I was shocked, even with- my thought was cut off. He managed to flip her over and pin her. "Haha!"

Rose's eyes were closed, "I feel dizzy…" She said slowly. The other guardians in the room, meaning my self and Janine rolled our eyes as everyone else erupted into laughter and began giving Eddie a highfive five and helping Rose up slowly. Lissa got her some water and once we had the furniture returned to normal Rose curled up, her legs over Eddie and Mia and her head on my lap. "You've gotten better Castile… not fair." Eddie glowed but didn't say a word. No doubt he was saving his gloating for later. I stroked her hair as I listened to the rest of the chapter.

**More mysterious Alchemist connections. The door was answered by a friendly looking human in her twenties who urged us to come inside. She only spoke a few words of English, but Sydney's translation skills carried us through. Sydney was more outgoing and charming than I'd seen her thus far, probably because our hosts weren't despicable vampiric offspring.**

**You wouldn't think riding in a car all day would be tiring, but I felt exhausted and was anxious to get an early start in the morning. So after dinner and a little TV, Sydney and I went to the room that had been prepared for us. It was small and plain but had two twin beds covered in thick, fluffy blankets. I snuggled into mine, grateful for the softness and the warmth, and wondered if I'd dream of Lissa or Adrian.**

A small pang of jealousy skittered through my chest. I chased it away immediately, at that time any dream of me would have been a nightmare.

**I didn't. I did, however, wake up to a slight wave of nausea rolling through me-the nausea that told me there was a Strigoi nearby. **

"Finally, some excitement!" Adrian exclaimed, as Janine threw the book to Eddie.

"You're up next."


	8. Chapter 7

Rose POV.

Eddie looked to the clock before taking the book, "How about supper first?"

Everyone agreed, now was as good a time than any. We said we'd read the books as fast as possible to get out of here but after a solid 6 or 7 hours of reading you just didn't want to do it anymore. I'd had a break in the middle and still felt tired of the book. I didn't see how or why they'd come to us, how they'd been written.

The simple fact all that this Richelle Mead knew all of these things- not just about my life, but of my thoughts and emotions as well… well, it terrified me.

We'd divided for supper. I had a suspicion the prolonged exposer to each other was starting to take its toll. We'd spent almost a week in the small house. Honestly, I was amazed we'd lasted this long without incident… or, more incidents, rather. There had been a few, without question.

Dimitri and I sat at the coffee table with Paul and Viktoria making simple conversation. Viktoria told us about her trials. She'd passed above average and was already receiving letters and calls from interested parities. It wasn't long until Viktoria was deep in conversation with my mother about guardian things that Dimitri turned to me, stroking my cheek with his thumb. "Whose been in your dreams?" He asked curiously, referring back to Lissa's comment.

At first I thought I heard him wrong. However, I knew I hadn't… my time was up. I couldn't keep hiding it. Unlike Lissa, Dimitri wouldn't forget. I would have to come clean.

I put on what I hoped was a convincing "Nothing" face and replied with a simple 'later'

I could see he didn't want to leave it, every time I delayed telling him it only confirmed that it was a little more than 'nothing'. It was for the best though. I would tell him both because I knew I couldn't lie to him and because maybe he would be able to help. Sonya was helping but I knew that having Dimitri know would make a substantial difference, emotionally at least. It had been months since I'd had a full week of solid sleep.

My internal jumble of thoughts was interrupted by Jill who yawned loudly next to Sydney and Adrian.

That caught my eye. Adrian and Sydney sat next to each other, cross legged, knees barley touching, talking to Jill but not looking at her in the slightest. Both were gazing into each others eyes like they were the only one in the room. I'd seen that look before. I'd seen that look a lot with my best friend and her boyfriend. Shock had me frozen, mouth agape. H_ow? What? When? _I couldn't form answers, just the questions. Dimitri looked between me and them a few times then smiled at me, amused. I tried to look away but couldn't… they were like the worlds worst traffic accident waiting to happen and all I could do was watch and hope that some how they made it through. An Alchemist… she'd grown up thinking we were the soul, most evil things on the planet and yet… there she was, staring right back at him.

That was when the spell broke, Sydney who was more angled toward me flicked her eyes around the room out of habit and caught me. It was one of the classic moments of over dramatic gazing around the room in exaggerated movements. Dimitri almost choked on his own laughter. No matter how hard I could have tried I wouldn't have been able to suppress the urge to elbow him. I gave him a hard gab in the abs, probably hurting my arm more than him.

Sydney chose not to explain to Adrian, simply giving me a defensive "What the hell" look. What the hell was right. What the hell happened in Palm Springs?

It was me who finally called bed time. I stood, placing Paul who'd fallen asleep in my lap, on the couch with a blanket pulled to his chin. Most of the group followed suit. Thankful not to be the first one to say it.

I caught Dimitri's eye as Lissa and I made our way to our room nodding slightly. Despite my parents we'd managed to trade Lissa and Dimitri's places almost every night. There was one night Lissa made it half way through the living room only to scream, waking everyone up, when a dark figure hiding in the shadows spoke to her, "Your Highness? Did you need something?" Abe flicked on a light as every guardian in the house emerged from their various rooms. "I…I…" Lissa stammered, "I wanted a drink," she recovered though still shaken, pointing to the kitchen which happened to be in the same direction she was going. I'd locked eyes with Dimitri across the room and we silently agreed we'd take the next few nights and keep our distance. I didn't completely trust my father not to shoot Dimitri if he spotted him tiptoeing across the living room. But tonight Lissa peeked out, "it's clear," she whispered back to me, "Just Viktoria and Paul, asleep."

I sat cross legged on the end of the large bed, go have fun with Christian then," I tried to encourage her but she saw my motives, smirking,

"Have fun with Dimitri then."

She stuck her tongue out at me and left, shutting the door quietly. I knew she would walk slowly, avoiding the spots in the floor that would creak so I had a good ten minutes, at least, before Dimitri returned.

I pealed off my clothing, replacing the sports bra and simple underwear for the sexy set I'd managed to acquire at Victoria Secret, and snuggled into the bed-closing my eyes for just a moment. Or so I thought.

After what felt like just a moment, I felt the comforter lift and someone slid in beside me. My guardian instinct kicked in, making my body tense, ready… until I smelled Dimitri's aftershave and his arm snake around my body.

I rolled onto my back and turned my head to look at him, he wore nothing but his loose pj pants and was sitting up slightly on his elbow with his head resting in his hand. He was smiling down at me, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you," His accent caressed my skin sending shivers though my body.

"You didn't, I was waiting for you." I gave him my man eater smile.

Amusement twinkled in his eyes, "No, Roza, you were out cold." He chuckled softly but brought his lips to mine. Obviously not that sad he'd woken me.

After a moment our sweet kiss grew deeper, more impassioned. He rolled over me, hovering only an inch above my body. Desire swept though me making my skin go warm. I arched my back slightly closing the distance and he deepened the kiss. We pulled away breathing heavy and he moved his lips to my jaw, moving down my neck and to my collar bone. I let out a soft moan as his soft kisses trailed further. He returned to my lips and I moved my hands to his hair, pulling him closer, always closer. His hand traced down my body to the back of my knee pulling my leg around his waist.

Both of us froze when we heard an embarrassed yelp from the door. We'd both been to involved with what we were doing to realize Viktoria (apparently not asleep anymore) had knocked and opened the door.

Dimitri rolled off of me, facing the door, "Viktoria, is something wrong?" I could have sworn I heard irritation in his voice. I bit my lip to stop myself from busting out into a hysterical laughing fit. It would not be good to wake the house… meaning, my father and mother. Even though I was an adult, they didn't want to see this- nor did I want them too.

Viktoria's face was beat red, "Ah… Its… its Paul…" She managed, "He's having trouble sleeping and saw you come in here, he wanted me to ask if he could sleep in here." A soft "please" came from the other side of the door. Dimitri's face and voice softened, "Yeah, just… give us a moment, please?" Viktoria nodded and hurried to shut the door. I twisted and hid my face into Dimitri's chest, trying to contain my laughter. He wrapped his arms around me and I felt him shake silently as well. After a moment we had ourselves under control and I got up retrieving Dimitri's shirt from the floor. I didn't have any pj bottoms but the shirt was long enough cover what it needed to. I returned to Dimitri and kissed his cheek.

The door opened slightly but froze, "Come in Paul." Dimitri called quietly. Paul entered the room and I curled next to Dimitri, my back to him. His arm wrapped around me, pulling me tight against his chest. I patted the bed beside us and Paul climbed in next to me. He lay on his side facing us and It was a large enough bed that there was almost a foot in-between us. "Are you homesick Paul?" I asked him.

"Yeah," He sniffled slightly and I placed my hand over his where it rested on the pillow. Dimitri then closed his hand around both of ours and Paul quickly fell asleep. I turned my head, giving Dimitri a final goodnight kiss and fell asleep too.

"Good night my Roza." was the last thing my brain registered that night.


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N **

**It's been a long time since I've updated and I'm sorry for that. Life got in the way... there was a death in the family and I've only begun to gain interest in writing again. I only tell you this because everyone who reviewed was very encouraging and I feel like I owe you an explanation. I hope to do another fanfic on something but I wont be completing this one. I've reread it but because of the time I spent away from it my hearts not in it anymore. I fully encourage someone to adopt it if they want, use ideas and finish it for me. I had hoped to not be one of the people who didn't finish and I'm very sorry I am. Thank you all for reading. **

**Disclaimer, I do not own any of these characters. **

I slept in the next morning, and woke alone in the bed. It was a clam morning, I didn't feel rushed or panicked. I was still getting used to these mornings. No one was trying to kill me, I wasn't accused of murder, wasn't tracking down my lover, wasn't being stalked by him either, Lissa wasn't just attacked my angry Moroi, and the night had gone by with no unwanted visitors. After all the craziness I'd gone through in the last year I wasn't sure if I liked these mornings or feared them. I pulled on my clothing absentmindedly reflecting about everything the books had reminded me. My life had been crazy…

I shook my head, chasing away all the memories. Those times were over and now we could move on… as soon as we finished the books at least.

I found almost everyone in the small kitchen, Viktoria, Paul, Dimitri, Christian, Lissa, Sydney, Jill, Mia, and Eddie. I immediately went to Dimitri wrapping my arms around his waist, hugging him for a second then ducked under his arm and reached for a chocolate chip muffin that was conveniently waiting for me in the box. "Yummy." I said chirpy.

Lissa rolled her eyes, "A moment longer and you would have lost dibs, better be more careful." I made a face of mock terror, "You wouldn't do that to me?!"

Lissa's eyes twinkled mischievously.

Abe came into the room nodding to everyone and pausing when he saw Dimitri and I. My arm around his waist, his around my shoulders, both of us had each other pulled close. The pause lasted only a moment until he shrugged turned to the coffee. I didn't know what to think at first… was it a trick? No, that didn't seem right… However, the possibility that my parents had finally come to terms with Dimitri and I seemed unlikely.

They had been upset when they found out, my mother more than my father, but they didn't hate it in the beginning (like they seemed to resonantly). I think they assumed that it hadn't started so early and I don't think they realized that it had been as serious as it was. At the end of the first book, my mother had been on a war path and in the second book, my father had followed suit. Lissa had told me that his aura didn't begin to show anger until the book described how much Dimitri had hurt me at the ski trip. She believed that the only reason he glared or interfered at all was because he didn't think Dimitri was good enough. Absurd.

Was it possible now that they were getting used to it? We all ate our muffins making small talk. My mother and Adrian joined shortly after too.

We all gathered in the sitting room and took up our spots. Even after just waking up the books made me feel tired again. I just wanted them to be over with.

Eddie took up the book and looked for the page. When he found it he took a deep breath and let his eyes drift over the group. Then he read,

**Chapter Six**

**I bolted upright, every part of me awake and alert. There were no city lights to shine through the window, and it took me several seconds to make out anything in the darkened room. Sydney was curled up in her own bed, her face unusually at peace as she slept.**

**Where was the Strigoi? Definitely not in our room. Was it in the house? Everyone had said the road to Dimitri's town was dangerous. Still, I would have thought Strigoi would be going after Moroi and dhampirs-though humans were a big part of their diet too. Thinking of the nice couple who'd welcomed us into their home, I felt something tight clench in my chest. No way would I let anything happen to them.**

The guardians nodded with approval. We were trained to defend Moroi but we wouldn't let humans die if we could stop it.

**Slipping quietly out of the bed, I grabbed a hold of my stake and crept from the room without disturbing Sydney. No one else was awake, and as soon as I was in the living room, the nausea went away. Okay. The Strigoi wasn't inside, which was a good thing. It was outdoors, apparently on the side of the house near my room. Still moving silently, I went out the house's front door and walked around the corner, as quiet as the night around me.**

"Imagine the advantage if we all could sense them…" I heard Eddie mutter under his breath.

"You know, without the side effects." I replied dryly, remembering the terrorizing ghosts.

**The nausea grew stronger as I approached the barn, and I couldn't help but feel smug. I was going to surprise this Strigoi who'd thought it could sneak into a tiny human village for dinner. There. Right near the barn's entrance, I could see a long shadow moving. Gotcha, I thought. I readied the stake and started to spring forward-And then something struck me on the shoulder.**

**I stumbled, astonished, and looked into the face of a Strigoi. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the shadow by the barn materialize into another Strigoi striding forward. Panic shot through me. There were two, and my secret detection system hadn't been able to tell the difference. Worse, they'd gotten the drop on me.**

Dimitri and my mother flinched.

**A thought immediately flashed into my mind: What if one's Dimitri?**

Dimitri flinched again, tightening the arm around my shoulders.

**It wasn't. At least, this close one wasn't. It was a woman. I had yet to get a feel for the second one. That one was approaching from my other side, moving fast. I had to deal with this immediate threat, though, and swiped at the woman with my stake, hoping to wound her, but she dodged so quickly, I hardly saw her move. She struck out toward me in an almost casual way. I wasn't fast enough to react and went flying toward the other Strigoi-a guy who was not Dimitri.**

**I responded quickly, leaping up and kicking him. I held the stake out, creating distance between us, but it did little good when the woman came up from behind and grabbed me, jerking my body against hers. I gave a muffled cry and felt her hands on my throat. She was probably going to break my neck, I realized. It was a fast, easy technique for Strigoi that then let them drag off a victim for feeding.**

**I struggled, jostling her hands slightly, but as the other Strigoi leaned over us, I knew it was useless. They'd surprised me. There were two of them.**

**They were strong.**

**Panic surged in me again, an overwhelming sense of fear and desperation. I was afraid every time I fought Strigoi, but this fear was reaching a breaking point. It was unfocused and out of control, and I suspected it was touched by a bit of the madness and darkness I'd absorbed from Lissa.**

**The feelings exploded within me, and I wondered if they'd destroy me before the Strigoi did. I was in very real danger of dying here-of letting Sydney and the others get killed. The rage and distress of that thought were smothering.**

**Then, suddenly, it was like the earth burst open. Translucent forms, glowing softly in the darkness, sprang up everywhere. Some looked like normal people. Others were horrible, their faces gaunt and skull-like. Ghosts. Spirits. They surrounded us, their presence making my hair stand on end and sending a splitting headache through my skull.**

It was my turn to flinch. The memory flashing through my head, as if it had been yesterday.

**The ghosts turned toward me. I'd had this happen before, on a plane, when apparitions had swarmed and threatened to consume me. I braced myself, trying desperately to summon up the strength to build barriers that would shut me off from the spirit world. It was a skill I'd had to learn, one I usually kept in place without any effort. The desperation and panic of this situation had cracked my control. In that horrible, blood-curdling moment, I again selfishly wished Mason hadn't found peace and left this world. I would have felt better if his ghost were here.**

**Then I realized I wasn't their target.**

**The ghosts were mobbing the two Strigoi. The spirits didn't have solid forms, but every place they touched and passed through me felt like ice. The female Strigoi immediately began waving her arms to fend the apparitions off, snarling in rage and something almost like fear. The ghosts didn't appear to be able to hurt the Strigoi, but they were apparently pretty annoying-and distracting.**

**I staked the male Strigoi before he ever saw me coming. Immediately, the ghosts around him moved to the woman. She was good, I'd give her that. Despite struggling to fend the spirits off, she was still able to dodge my attacks fairly well. A lucky punch from her made stars burst before my eyes and sent me into the barn wall. I still had that ghost-induced splitting headache, and my head slamming into the barn didn't help. Staggering up, dizzy, I made my way back to her and continued my efforts to get a shot in at her heart. She managed to keep her chest out of my range-at least until one particularly terrifying ghost caught her off guard. Her momentary distraction gave me my chance, and I staked her, too. She fell to the ground-leaving me alone with the spirits.**

**With the Strigoi, the ghosts had clearly wanted to attack them. With me, it was a lot like on the plane. They seemed fascinated by me, desperate to get my attention. Only, with dozens of phantoms swarming, it might as well have been an attack.**

Jill stared at me with a fearful look in her eyes… "Will… will you teach me to block them?" She whispered, turning her gaze to the book. Sadness struck me. I didn't want Jill to have to worry about this. "Of course." I assured her.

**Desperately, I tried again to summon my walls, to block the ghosts off from me as I'd done long ago. The effort was excruciating. Somehow, my out-of-control emotions had brought the spirits, and while I was calmer now, that control was harder to bring about. My head continued throbbing.**

**Gritting my teeth, I focused every ounce of my strength into blocking out the ghosts.**

**"Go away," I hissed. "I don't need you anymore."**

**For a moment, it looked like my efforts were going to be useless. Then, slowly, one by one, the spirits began to fade. I felt the control I'd learned before gradually slip into place. Soon, there was nothing there but me, the darkness, and the barn-and Sydney.**

**I noticed her just as I collapsed to the ground. She was running out of the house in her pajamas, face pale. Kneeling at my side, she helped me sit up, legitimate fear all over her. "Rose! Are you okay?"**

**I felt like every scrap of energy in my brain and body had been sucked out. I couldn't move. I couldn't think.**

**"No," I told her.**

**And then I passed out.**

"I thought you were dead." Sydney said sadly.

I gave her a smile, "It'll take more than that to take me down."

Eddie cleared his throat, "Like me."

I remembered the little scuffle yesterday and frowned. "I could have beaten you." Everyone laughed at me, pouting beside Dimitri. I remembered the fight clearly, remembered commanding my body to move but it was almost like it was stuck in slow motion mode.

**I dreamed of Dimitri again,**

"Uh oh," Eddie grimaced.

"Heehee, revenge is sweet." I hissed.

** his arms around me and beautiful face leaning over me to care for me as he'd done so often when I was sick.**

I looked up at Dimitri and he smiled at me, stroking my cheek.

** Memories of things past came to me, the two of us laughing over some joke. Sometimes, in these dreams, he'd carry me away. Sometimes, we'd be riding in a car. Occasionally, his face would start to take on that fearsome Strigoi image that always tormented me. **

Dimitri frowned but pushed it away. We brought our foreheads together, taking comfort in each others arms as my dreams wrapped around us.

**Then I'd quickly order my mind to brush such thoughts away.**

**Dimitri had taken care of me so many times and had always been there when I needed him. It had gone both ways, though. Admittedly, he had not seemed to end up in the infirmary as much as me. **

I ignored the jokes that the group spit out, focusing on the smile that spread across Dimitri's lips.

**That was just my luck. Even when he was injured, he wouldn't acknowledge it. And as I dreamed and hallucinated, images came to me of one of the few times I'd been able to take care of him.**

**Just before the school had been attacked, Dimitri had been involved in a number of tests with me and my fellow novices to see how well we reacted to surprise assaults. Dimitri was so tough that he was almost impossible to beat, though he still got bruised up a number of times. I'd run into him in the gym once during these tests,**

Dimitri chuckled and I put my hand on the side of his face, chuckling too. Our foreheads were still touching, and we were close enough I felt the whisper of his breath on my face.

** surprised to see a cut on his cheek. It was hardly fatal, but there was a fair amount of blood showing.**

"There was hardly any," He rolled his eyes at me.

**"Do you realize you're bleeding to death?" I'd exclaimed. It was kind of an exaggeration, but still.**

**He touched his cheek absentmindedly and seemed to notice the injury for the first time. "I wouldn't quite go that far. It's nothing."**

**"It's nothing until you get an infection!"**

**"You know that's not likely," he said obstinately. That was true. Moroi-aside from contracting the occasional rare disease, as Victor had-hardly ever got sick. We dhampirs had inherited that from them, just as Sydney's tattoo gave her some protection. Nonetheless, I wasn't about to let Dimitri bleed all over.**

Dimitri gave me a half smile.

**"Come on," I said, pointing to the small bathroom in the gym. My voice had been fierce, and to my surprise, he'd actually obeyed.**

I placed a light kiss on his lips and rested my head on his shoulder as his arms wrapped around me. There truly was no greater feeling. Well, maybe a few… but those required the removal of clothing and privacy.

**After wetting a washcloth, I gently cleaned his face. He continued protesting at first but finally fell quiet. The bathroom was small, and we were just a few inches from each other. I could smell his clean, intoxicating scent and studied every detail of his face and strong body.**

I bit my cheek fighting against the "Yummy" that was playing at my lips. My parents didn't need to hear that.

** My heart raced in my chest, but we were supposed to be on good behaviour, so I tried to appear cool and collected. He was eerily calm too, **

"Did it seem that way?" He murmured, just loud enough for me. Heheeehee, I thought, imagining him with the internal war as I'd had.

**but when I brushed his hair back behind his ears to clean the rest of his face, he flinched. My fingertips touching his skin had sent shock waves through me, and he'd felt them too.**

I ran my fingertips up his arm, please to find the same electricity as back then. Dimitri pulled me tighter and pressed his lips into my hair. We didn't have to fight it anymore.

** He caught hold of my hand and pulled it away.**

**"Enough," he said, voice husky. "I'm fine."**

**"Are you sure?" I asked. He hadn't released my hand. We were so, so close. The small bathroom seemed ready to burst with the electricity building between us. I knew this couldn't last but hated to let go of him. God, it was hard being responsible sometimes.**

I was only half aware of the group laughing at something Christian had said. My entire being focused on Dimitri.

**"Yes," he said. His voice was soft, and I knew he wasn't mad at me. He was afraid, afraid of how little it would take to ignite a fire between us. As it was, I was warm all over, just from the feel of his hand. Touching him made me feel complete, like the person I was always meant to be. "Thank you, Roza."**

**He released my hand, and we left, both off to do our own things that day. But the feel of his skin and hair stayed with me for hours afterward…**

Dimitri whispered something in russian and warmth spread through me, despite not knowing the language.

**I don't know why I dreamed that memory after being attacked near the barn. It seemed weird that I'd dream of taking care of Dimitri when I was the one who needed care. I guess it didn't really matter what the memory was, so long as it involved him. Dimitri always made me feel better, even in my dreams, giving me strength and resolve.**

**But as I lay in that delirium and moved in and out of consciousness, his comforting face would occasionally take on those terrible red eyes and fangs. I'd whimper, fighting hard to push that sight away. Other times, he didn't look like Dimitri at all. He'd turn into a man I didn't know, an older Moroi with dark hair and cunning eyes, gold jewelry glinting on his neck and ears. **

All eyes fell on Abe.

**I'd cry out for Dimitri again, and eventually, his face would return, safe and wonderful.**

I couldn't help but laugh. Abe, upstaged by my Russian god.

**At one point, though, the image shifted again, this time into a woman's. Clearly, she wasn't Dimitri, but there was something about her brown eyes that reminded me of him. **

I smiled, Olena was like a second mother to me.

**She was older, in her forties maybe, and a dhampir. She laid a cool cloth across my forehead, and I realized I wasn't dreaming anymore. My body ached, and I was in an unfamiliar bed, in an unfamiliar room. No sign of the Strigoi. Had I dreamed them, too? "Don't try to move," the woman said with the faintest trace of a Russian accent. "You took some bad hits."**

**My eyes widened as the events by the barn came back to me, the ghosts I'd summoned up. It hadn't been a dream. "Where's Sydney? Is she okay?"**

Sydney looked at me, surprised, "I was the first thing you thought of?"

I nodded to her, "Of course."

**"She's fine. Don't worry." Something in the woman's voice told me I could believe her.**

**"Where am I?"**

**"In Baia."**

Dimitri looked at me, then seemed to put the dots together.

**Baia, Baia. Somewhere, in the back of my head, that name was familiar. All of a sudden, it clicked. Long, long ago, Dimitri had said it. He'd only ever mentioned his town's name once and, even though I'd tried, I had never been able to remember it. Sydney would never tell me the name. But now we were here. Dimitri's home.**

"Literally." I smiled.

**"Who are you?" I asked.**

**"Olena," she said. "Olena Belikova."**

"And that is how Rose met me!" Viktoria exclaimed, despite the fact I hadn't really met her yet, "Can I read?" She was jumping and down excitedly, "Please?"

Eddie looked kinda frightened, holding out the book to her, "Yeah, sure."

Viktoria snatched the book to her, almost ripping the pages.

I looked at her and held up my hands, "Woah man, calm blue ocean."

She snickered and turned to the book,

**Chapter Seven **

**It was like Christmas morning.**

She stopped, looking at me strangely, "Do you tell people their family is dead every Christmas morning?"

My jaw fell slightly as she shrugged, "Just saying, odd choice of words, er… thoughts." I was aware of the whole group staring at her with the same expression on their face, none of us looking away for several minutes. I'd hate to admit it… but she had a point. I really hadn't clued in to what meeting his family had meant.

**I wasn't usually big on God or fate, but now I was seriously reconsidering. After I'd passed out, Sydney had apparently made some frantic calls, and someone she knew in Baia had driven to us-risking the darkness-to rescue us and take us back where I could be treated. That was no doubt why I'd had vague sensations of being in a car during my delirium; it hadn't all been part of the dream.**

**And then, somehow, out of all the dhampirs in Baia, I had been taken to Dimitri's mother. That was enough to make me seriously consider that there might truly be forces greater than me at work in the universe. No one told me exactly how it happened, but I soon learned Olena Belikova had a reputation among her peers for healing-and not even any sort of magical healing. She'd had medical training and was the person other dhampirs-and even some Moroi-went to in this region when they wanted to avoid human attention. Still. The coincidence was eerie, and I couldn't help but think there was something going on that I didn't understand.**

"Not to mention the fact I kept saying "Belikov" when unconscious." Not exactly that much of a coincidence, knowing that.

**For now, I didn't worry too much about the hows and whys of my current situation. I was too busy staring wide-eyed at my surroundings and its inhabitants. Olena didn't live alone. All of Dimitri's sisters-three of them-lived in the house too, along with their kids. The family resemblance was startling. None of them looked exactly like Dimitri, but in every face, I could see him. The eyes. The smile. Even the sense of humor. Seeing them fed the Dimitri withdrawal**

Dimitri looked at me amused, "Dimitri withdrawal?"

Christian answered before I could open my mouth, "It's serious shit man. When you were in Palm Springs she nearly died." Lissa and Mia laughed and I cast them both a glare after landing a pillow in Christians face.

"I missed you," I returned to Dimitri, snuggling closer to his side and burring my face into the crook of his neck.

** I'd had since he'd disappeared-and made it worse at the same time. Whenever I looked at any of them out of my peripheral vision, I'd think I was seeing Dimitri. It was like a house of mirrors, with distorted reflections of him everywhere.**

"Creepy." Adrian commented.

**Even the house gave me a thrill. There were no obvious signs that Dimitri had ever lived there, but I kept thinking, this is where he grew up. He walked these floors, touched these walls…**

"You didn't start kissing the walls and floors did you? They say thats what crazy people do, little dhampir." Adrian laughed.

Shock coursed through me for a second but I recovered quickly, "You would know." I teased back, hoping that he would return with his light grin- just like he used too. It was probably the first joke he'd made to me in months. Not to mention, the first time he'd called me little dhampir since then too. He did. His light, easy going grin spread across his face. Just for a moment before he looked down, apparently realizing what he'd said and clearly as shocked as I was. Viktoria continued reading unaware of what had happened. No one else had missed it though. Everyone looked between Adrian and me, wondering- just like I was. Adrian didn't turn to me again though. He stared down, eye brows knit together.

** As I walked from room to room, I'd touch the walls too, trying to draw his energy from them. I'd envision him lounging on the couch, home on break from school. I wondered if he'd slid down the banisters when he was little. **

"We all did." Viktoria laughed. Dimitri smiled too, "When Yeva wasn't looking." Viktoria and him shared a knowing look. I could only imagine their ancient grandmother's reaction.

**The images were so real that I had to keep reminding myself that he hadn't been here in ages.**

**"You've made an amazing recovery," Olena noted the next morning after I'd been brought to her. She watched with approval as I inhaled a plate of blini. They were ultra-thin pancakes stacked and layered with butter and jam. My body always required a lot of food to keep its strength up, and I figured as long as I wasn't chewing with my mouth open or anything, I had no reason to feel bad about eating so much. "I thought you were dead when Abe and Sydney brought you in."**

**"Who?" I asked between bites of food.**

**Sydney sat at the table with the rest of the family, hardly touching her food as usual. She seemed clearly uneasy at being in a dhampir household, but when I'd first come downstairs this morning, I'd definitely seen some relief in her eyes.**

I caught Sydney's eye, she shrugged, "Maybe a little."

**"Abe Mazur," said Sydney.**

"Old man." I smirked.

He rolled his eyes.

** Unless I was mistaken, some of the other people at the table exchanged knowing glances. "He's a Moroi. I... I didn't know how badly you were injured last night, so I called him. He drove down with his guardians. He was the one who brought you here."**

**Guardians. Plural. "Is he royal?" Mazur wasn't a royal name, but that wasn't always a sure sign of someone's lineage. And while I was beginning to trust Sydney's social networking and connections to powerful people, I couldn't imagine why a royal would go out of his way for me. Maybe he owed the Alchemists a favour.**

Abe smirked, "Or maybe I didn't want my daughter to die and Sydney was talking you to me?"

Now I rolled my eyes, "It's possible, I suppose."

**"No," she said bluntly. I frowned. A non-royal Moroi with more than one guardian? Very odd. It was clear she wasn't going to say anything else on the matter-at least not for now.**

**I swallowed another mouthful of blini and turned my attention back to Olena. "Thanks for taking me in."**

**Dimitri's older sister, Karolina, sat at the table too, along with her baby girl and son Paul. **

Paul's head snapped toward the book, "Thats me!" He said joyfully, pointing to his chest.

**Paul was about ten**

*****AUTHORS NOTE: **Lets pretend that he's a tad younger, for the sake of my sanity, please? I wrote the last few chapters without realizing this and I would really hate to go back and rewrite them.*******

** and seemed fascinated by me.**

Paul blushed and hid behind his aunt.

**Dimitri's teenage sister, **

"Me" Viktoria clarified.

**Viktoria, was also there. She appeared to be a little younger than me. The third Belikov sister was named Sonya and had left for work before I woke up. I'd have to wait to meet her.**

**"Did you really kill two Strigoi all by yourself?" Paul asked me.**

**"Paul," chastised Karolina. "That's not a nice question to ask."**

**"But it's an exciting one," said Viktoria with a grin. Her brown hair was streaked with gold, but her dark eyes sparkled so much like Dimitri's when he was excited that it tugged at my heart.**

Viktoria's grin fell slightly but she continued.

** Again, I had that taunting sensation of Dimitri being here but not here.**

**"She did," said Sydney. "I saw the bodies. Like always."**

**She wore that comically tormented expression of hers, and I laughed. "At least I left them where you could find them this time." My humor suddenly dimmed. "Did anyone... any other humans notice or hear?"**

**"I got rid of the bodies before anyone saw," she said. "If people heard anything... Well, backwoods places like that are always filled with superstitions and ghost stories. They don't have factual evidence of vampires, per se, but there's always sort of this belief that the supernatural and dangerous are out there. Little do they know."**

**She said "ghost stories" without any change of expression. I wondered if she'd seen any of the spirits last night but finally decided she probably hadn't.**

"Thank goodness, I probably would have gone into shock." Sydney spoke quietly, I thought I hadn't heard her.

** She'd come outside near the tail end of the fight, and if past evidence was any indication, nobody else could see the spirits I saw-except Strigoi, as it turned out.**

**"You must have had some good training then," said Karolina, shifting so the baby leaned against her shoulder. "You look like you should still be in school."**

**"Just got out," I said, earning another scrutinizing look from Sydney.**

**"You're American," said Olena matter-of-factly. "What in the world could bring you out here?"**

**"I... I'm looking for someone," I said after a few moments' hesitation.**

"You should have told us right then you know." Viktoria looked at me.

I wasn't so sure. It wasn't the kind of news you dropped on the breakfast table.

**I was afraid they were going to press for details or that she too would have blood whore suspicions, but just then, the kitchen door opened and Dimitri's grandmother, Yeva, walked in.**

A shiver ran the course of my body. "Ugh…" It was no secret that Yeva and I didn't exactly see eye to eye.

** She had poked her head in earlier and scared the hell out of me. Dimitri had told me that she was a witch of sorts, and I could believe it. **

Dimitri rolled his eyes, "Not a witch,-"

"I know, I know. Some crazy unpronounceable Russian word." I interrupted.

**She looked like she was a gazillion years old and was so thin, it was a wonder the wind didn't blow her away.**

There was a seconds hesitation before Dimitri and Viktoria burst into laughter. I snatched the book away from Viktoria and continued reading, having to raise my voice over the Belikov's hysterics. Who would have thought the image of their grandmother flapping away in the wind would bring a light to their eyes?

** She barely stood five feet tall, and her hair covered her head in patchy grey wisps. But it was her eyes that truly frightened me. The rest of her might be frail, but those dark eyes were sharp and alert and seemed to bore into my soul. Even without Dimitri's explanation, I would have taken her for a witch. She was also the only one in the household who didn't speak English.**

"Or so I thought," I muttered to no one. Dimitri and Viktoria's laughter was under control but they still periodically burt into chuckles/giggles so I kept reading, rushing throughout the words.

**She sat down at one of the empty chairs, and Olena hastily jumped up to get some more blini. Yeva muttered something in Russian that made the others look uncomfortable. Sydney's lips twitched into a small smile. Yeva's eyes were on me as she spoke, and I glanced around for translation.**

**"What?" I asked.**

**"Grandmother says you're not telling us the whole truth about why you're here. She says the longer you delay, the worse it will be," Viktoria explained. She then gave Sydney an apologetic look. "And she wants to know when the Alchemist is leaving."**

**"As soon as possible," said Sydney dryly.**

**"Well, why I'm here... it's kind of a long story." Could I be any vaguer?**

"Yeah, probably. Give it back," Viktoria said, her breathing under control now too, "It's my chapter." I looked at her for a second but gave her back the book.

**Yeva said something else, and Olena retorted with what sounded like a chastisement. To me, she spoke gently: "Ignore her, Rose. She's in one of her moods. Why you're here is your own business-although I'm sure Abe would like to talk to you at some point." She frowned slightly, and I was reminded of the earlier looks at the table. "You should make sure you thank him. He seemed very concerned about you."**

I rolled my eyes, "I thought you were a creeper, old man."

A twinkle of amusement flashed in his eyes.

**"I'd kind of like to see him too," I mumbled, still curious about this well-protected, non-royal Moroi who had given me a ride and seemed to make everyone uneasy. Eager to avoid more talk of why I was here, I hastily changed the subject. "I'd also love to look around Baia. I've never been in a place like this before-where so many dhampirs live, I mean."**

**Viktoria brightened. "I can definitely give you a tour-if you're sure you're feeling okay. Or if you don't have to leave right away."**

**She believed I was passing through, which was just as well. Honestly, I wasn't sure what I was doing anymore, now that it seemed likely Dimitri wasn't in the area. I glanced at Sydney questioningly.**

**She shrugged. "Do whatever you want. I'm not going anywhere." I found that a little disconcerting too. She'd brought me here as her superiors had told her to do-but now what? Well, that was a concern for later.**

Sydney raised her eyebrows, "So you plotted to ditch me and now you're worried I'll leave you?"

I just shrugged, in the short time I'd known Sydney, I'd liked her. She was brave and honest…a good person. Despite thinking I was an evil creature who was planning to kill her.

**As soon as I finished my food, Viktoria practically dragged me out the door, as if I was the most exciting thing that had happened around here in a while. Yeva hadn't taken her eyes off me for the rest of the meal, and even though she'd never said anything else, her suspicious look clearly told me she didn't believe a word I'd said. I invited Sydney along on the outing, but she declined, choosing instead to lock herself away in a bedroom to read about Greek temples or make world-controlling phone calls or do whatever it was she did.**

Sydney frowned at me, "Really?"

I held up my hands in defence, "I have complete faith you would do a wonderful job, running the world."

Everyone rolled their eyes at me.

**Viktoria said downtown wasn't far from where they lived and was easy to walk to. The day was clear and cool, with enough sun to make being outside pretty pleasant.**

**"We don't get a lot of visitors," she explained. "Except for Moroi men, but most don't stay long."**

**She added no more, but I wondered about her implications. Were these Moroi men off to find some action with dhampir women? I'd grown up thinking of these women, dhampirs who chose not to become guardians, as disgraceful and dirty. The ones in the Nightingale had certainly met the blood whore stereotype, but Dimitri had assured me that not all dhampir women were like that. After meeting the Belikovs, I believed him.**

Dimitri and Viktoria nodded with her words.

**As we approached the center of town, I soon discovered another myth shattered. People always talked about blood whores living in camps or communes, but that wasn't the case here. Baia wasn't huge, not like Saint Petersburg or even Omsk, but it was a real town with a large human population. Hardly a rural camp or farm settlement. The whole setting was astonishingly normal, and when we reached downtown, lined with small shops and restaurants, it too seemed like any other place in the world people might live. Modern and ordinary, just with a slight village feel.**

**"Where are all the dhampirs?" I wondered aloud. Sydney had said there was a secret dhampir subculture, but I saw no signs of it.**

**Viktoria smiled. "Oh, they're here. We have a lot of businesses and other places that humans don't know about." While I could understand dhampirs going unnoticed in big cities, it seemed remarkable to pull that off here. "And lots of us just live and work with humans." She nodded over toward what looked like a drugstore. "That's where Sonya works now."**

**"Now?"**

**"Now that she's pregnant." Viktoria rolled her eyes. "I'd take you to meet her, but she's grumpy all the time lately. I hope the baby's early."**

Viktoria smiled, the baby was early. She'd gotten her wish.

**She left it at that, and I again wondered about the dynamics of dhampirs and Moroi here. We didn't mention it again, and our conversation stayed light and even teasing. Viktoria was easy to like, and in only an hour, we'd clicked as though we'd known each other forever. Maybe my connection to Dimitri bound me to his family, too.**

Viktoria slid her eyes to me, "It could happen." I insisted, "Or maybe I'm just loveable."

**My thoughts were cut off when someone called Viktoria's name. We turned to see a very cute dhampir guy crossing the street. He had bronze hair and dark eyes, his age falling somewhere between mine and Viktoria's.**

**He said something chatty and conversational to her. She grinned at him and then gestured to me, giving my introduction in Russian. "This is Nikolai," she told me in English.**

**"Nice to meet you," he said, also switching languages. He gave me a quick assessment in the way guys often do, but when he turned back to Viktoria, it was clear who the object of his affections was. **

Viktoria blushed a deep red and rushed into the next sentence.

**"You should bring Rose to Marina's party. It's Sunday night." He hesitated, turning a bit shy. "You're going, aren't you?"**

**Viktoria turned thoughtful, and I realized she was completely oblivious to his crush. "I'll be there, but..." She turned to me. "Will you still be around?"**

**"I don't know," I said honestly. "But I'll go if I'm still here. What kind of party is it?"**

**"Marina's a friend from school," explained Viktoria. "We're just going to get together and celebrate before we go back."**

**"To school?" I asked stupidly. Somehow, it had never occurred to me that the dampers out here would be in school.**

"Wow Rose…" Christian said slowly.

**"We're on break right now," said Nikolai. "For Easter."**

**"Oh." It was late April, but I had no clue what day Easter fell on this year. I'd lost track of the days. It hadn't happened yet, so their school must have their break the week before Easter. St. Vladimir's took its vacation afterward. "Where is your school?"**

**"It's about three hours away. Even more remote than here." Viktoria made a face.**

Vitoria smirked, "Not anymore." I felt a glitter of sadness, Viktoria was a good fighter but just out of school, she hadn't experienced the world yet. A part of me wondered what would happen when she made her first kill but I shoved that thought out pretty quickly.

**"Baia's not so bad," teased Nikolai.**

**"Easy for you to say. You'll eventually leave and go see new and exciting places."**

**"Can't you?" I asked her.**

**She frowned, suddenly uncomfortable. "Well, I could... but that's not how we do it here-at least not in my family. Grandmother has some... strong opinions about men and women. Nikolai will be a guardian, but I'll stay here with my family."**

Lissa looked confused, "What happened to change that?"

Viktoria smiled and looked to me, "Rose did."

"Oh?" I replied.

She nodded, "Meeting you, I was able to create a case against Yeva and I managed to convince her it was honourable, my duty." She made a sour face. "I did have to promise to return, and spend the rest of my days with the family once I- and I quote , "had enough danger and fighting…".

**Nikolai suddenly gave me a new appraisal. "Are you a guardian?"**

**"Ah, well." Now I was the uncomfortable one.**

"Doesn't happen often," Lissa gave me a knowing look.

**Viktoria spoke before I could come up with anything to say. "She killed two Strigoi outside of town. By herself."**

**He looked impressed. "You are a guardian."**

**"Well, no... I've killed before, but I'm not actually sworn." Turning around, I lifted up my hair to show them my neck. In addition to all my regular molnija marks, I also had the little star-shaped tattoo that meant I'd been in a battle. They both gasped, and Nikolai said something in Russian. I let my hair drop and looked back. "What?"**

My hand unconsciously went to the back of my neck.

**"You're..." Viktoria bit her lip, eyes contemplative as she groped for what she wanted to say. "Unpromised? I don't know the English word."**

**"Unpromised?" I said. "I guess... but technically, aren't all the women here?"**

**"Even if we aren't guardians, we still get marks showing we completed our training. No promise mark, though. For you to have killed so many Strigoi and have no loyalties to a school or the guardians..." Viktoria shrugged. "We call it being unpromised-it's a strange thing."**

**"It's strange where I come from too," I admitted. Unheard of, really. So much so, that we didn't have a term for it. It just wasn't done.**

"You've never been one for rules." Abe chuckled to himself. One of my best qualities to him, I was sure.

**"I should let you two go," said Nikolai, his lovesick eyes back on Viktoria. "But I'll see you at Marina's for sure? Maybe sooner?"**

**"Yes," she agreed. They said their farewells in Russian, and then he loped off across the street with the kind of easy, athletic grace guardians often acquired with training. It reminded me a bit of Dimitri's.**

"What doesn't remind you of Dimitri?" Christian groaned.

"You." I spat back at him.

Lissa giggled, stroking his hand.

**"I must have scared him off," I said.**

**"No, he thinks you're exciting."**

**"Not as exciting as he thinks you are."**

**Her eyebrows rose. "What?"**

**"He likes you... I mean, really likes. Can't you tell?"**

Viktoria blushed again. Maybe something had happened between them?

**"Oh. We're just friends."**

**I could tell from her attitude that she meant it. She was completely indifferent to him, which was too bad. He was cute and nice. Letting poor Nikolai go, I brought up the guardians again. I was intrigued by the different attitudes around here. "You said you can't... but do you want to be a guardian?"**

**She hesitated. "I've never really considered it. I get all the same training at school, and I like being able to defend myself. But I'd rather use it in defense of my family than Moroi. I guess it sounds…" **

I looked to her, "What changed _your_ mind?"

She looked thoughtful for a moment, "I want to see the world before I settle down. I want to live and have adventures. Unfortunately, becoming a guardian was really my only chance. I'll settle down again but right now I want to do my part. Besides… With these new laws… family tradition has to be rethought."

I thought about the last few months. She was right. If more students did a few years of service at least we probably wouldn't be facing an uproar like we were now. I could easily put just as much blame on the traditionalist values of the Moroi. If they would consider using magic and standing up for themselves. We also wouldn't be pushed to extremes-like the age law.

**She paused again to think of the right word. "... Sexist? But, the men become guardians, and women stay at home. Only my brother left."**

**I nearly tripped. "Your brother?" I asked, keeping my voice as steady as possible.**

**"Dimitri," she said. "He's older than me and has been a guardian for a while. He's over in the United States, actually. We haven't seen him in a long time."**

My stomach twisted.

**"Huh."**

**I felt horrible and guilty. Guilty because I was keeping the truth from Viktoria and the others. Horrible because apparently no one from back home had bothered to pass the news on to his family yet. Smiling at her own memories, she didn't notice my change in mood.**

**"Paul actually looks exactly like he did at that age. I should show you pictures of him-and some recent ones, too. Dimitri's pretty cute. For my brother, I mean."**

The expression that crossed Dimitri's face was smug-just fro a second, then turned amused.

**I was sure seeing pictures of Dimitri as a little boy would rip my heart out. As it was, the more Viktoria began to talk about him, the sicker I felt.**

Dimitri tightened his arm around my shoulders and pressed a kiss to my hair.

**She had no clue about what had happened, and even though it had been a couple of years since she'd seen him, it was clear she and the rest of the family loved him like crazy. Not that that should be a surprise. (And really, who couldn't love Dimitri?)**

From the corner of my eye I saw Adrian lift his hand, indicating himself. My Mother and Father also looked in-between Dimitri and me. I had a feeling their displeasure was more with the situation and not with him. My mother had respected him greatly before she knew we were sneaking kisses around the corner.

**Being around them just one morning had shown me how close they all were. I knew from Dimitri's stories that he was crazy about all of them, too.**

**"Rose? Are you okay?" Viktoria was peering at me with concern, probably because I hadn't said anything in the last ten minutes.**

**We had circled around and were almost back at her house. Looking at her, at her open, friendly face and eyes that were so much like Dimitri's, I realized I had another task ahead of me before I could go after Dimitri, wherever he was. I swallowed.**

**"I... yeah. I think... I think I need to sit down with you and the rest of your family."**

**"Okay," she said, the worry still in her voice.**

Viktoria paused in the reading… memories flooded her eyes, "I could see from your face whatever you were going to say was bad… but I never thought…" She looked to Dimitri tears pooling in the bottom of her eyes. She shook her head and blinked them away quickly. Returning to the book before anyone could say anything.

**Inside the house, Olena was bustling around the kitchen with Karolina. I thought they were making plans for tonight's dinner, which was startling considering we'd just finished a huge breakfast. I could definitely get used to the way they ate around here. In the living room, Paul was building an elaborate racetrack out of Legos. Yeva sat in a rocking chair and appeared to be the world's most stereotypical grandmother as she knit a pair of socks. Except most grandmothers didn't look like they could incinerate you with a single glance.**

Another shiver ran down my spine. I took an uneasy glance around. Somehow, I could feel those eyes watching…

**Olena was talking to Karolina in Russian but switched to English when she saw me. "You two are back earlier than I expected."**

**"We saw the town," said Viktoria. "And... Rose wanted to talk to you. To all of us."**

**Olena gave me a look as puzzled and concerned as Viktoria's. "What's going on?"**

The room shifted uncomfortably.

**The weight of all those Belikov eyes on me made my heart start thumping in my chest. How was I going to do this? How could I explain something I hadn't spoken about in weeks? I couldn't stand to put them-or myself-through it. When Yeva scuttled in, it made things that much worse.**

**Maybe she'd had some mystical sense that something big was about to go down.**

"Probably does." I said, trying to lighten the mood. None of us were there- it was only a memory to us… but reading it… reliving it. We all looked down at our hands, filled with the fear and panic that filled me back then.

**"We should sit," I said.**

**Paul stayed in the living room, for which I was grateful. I was pretty sure I couldn't handle saying what I had to with a little kid-one who looked like Dimitri, apparently-watching me.**

**"Rose, what's wrong?" asked Olena. She looked so sweet and, well... motherly, that I nearly cried. Whenever I'd been angry with my own mother for not being around or doing a good job, I'd always compared her to some idealized image of a mom-a mom who seemed a lot like Dimitri's, I realized. **

I saw the flash of jealousy in my mothers eyes. Uh oh.

**Dimitri's sisters looked equally worried, like I was someone they'd known forever. That acceptance and concern made my eyes burn even more, seeing as they'd just met me this morning. Yeva wore a very strange expression, however-almost like she'd been expecting something like this all along.**

**"Well... the thing is, the reason I came here, to Baia, was to find you guys."**

**That wasn't entirely true. I'd come to search for Dimitri. I'd never thought much about finding his family, but now, I realized that it was a good thing I had.**

**"You see, Viktoria was talking about Dimitri earlier." Olena's face brightened when I said her son's name. "And... I knew-er, know him. He used to be a guardian at my school. My teacher, actually."**

"Little bit of an understatement." Lissa mumbled, looking at his arms wrapped around me. A small smile on her face.

**Karolina and Viktoria lit up as well. "How is he?" asked Karolina. "It's been ages since we've seen him. Do you know when he's going to visit?"**

**I couldn't even think about answering her question, so I pushed forward with my story before I lost my courage in front of all those loving faces. As the words came out of my mouth, it was almost like someone else was saying them and I was simply watching from a distance. "A month ago... our school was attacked by Strigoi. A really bad attack... a huge group of Strigoi. We lost a lot of people-Moroi and dhampirs, both."**

**Olena exclaimed in Russia. Viktoria leaned toward me. "St. Vladimir's?"**

"The world knew about it within days." Abe frowned.

**I halted in my story, surprised. "You've heard of it?"**

**"Everyone's heard of it," said Karolina. "We all know what happened. That was your school? You were there that night?"**

**I nodded.**

**"No wonder you have so many molnija marks," breathed Viktoria in wonder.**

**"And that's where Dimitri's at now?" asked Olena. "We lost track of his latest assignment."**

**"Um, yeah..." My tongue felt thick in my throat. I couldn't breathe. "I was at the school the night of the attack," I reaffirmed. "And so was Dimitri. He was one of the leaders in the battle… and the way he fought... he was... he was so brave... and..."**

Dimitri reached out, setting a hand on Viktoria's shoulder. Tears dripped down her cheek but she'd kept her voice steady. I watched her lean into her brothers hand, reminding herself he was here now. It was going to be okay. It was the same thing I was doing.

**My words were breaking up, but by this point, the others were catching on. Olena gasped and again murmured in Russian. I picked out the word for "God." Karolina sat frozen, but Viktoria leaned toward me. Those eyes that were so like her brother's stared at me intently, as intently as he would if pushing me to tell the truth, no matter how awful.**

**"What happened?" she demanded. "What happened to Dimitri?"**

**I looked away from their faces, my eyes drifting to the living room. On the far wall, I caught sight of a bookcase filled with old, leather-covered books. They had gold-embossed lettering on the spines. It was totally random, but I suddenly remembered Dimitri mentioning those. They were these old adventure novels my mother collected, he'd told me once. The covers were so beautiful, and I loved them. If I was careful, she'd let me read them sometimes. The thought of a young Dimitri sitting in front of that bookcase, carefully turning the pages-and oh, he would have been careful-almost made me lose it. Had that been where he'd developed his love of western novels?**

No one laughed, no one made a joke, no one said anything. It was a strange mmix of sadness and an eerie calm. We all were here, we survived but in the mix of words Viktoria now read, we seemed to be forgetting that.

**I was losing it. I was getting distracted. I wasn't going to be able to tell them the truth. My emotions were growing too powerful, my memories flooding me as I fought to think about something-anything-that didn't involve that horrible battle.**

Tears were slowly falling down Lissa's cheeks as she watched Viktoria read. Jill and Mia were similar. All the guardians had the stone mask we'd perfected with years of training. I focused on Dimitri's eyes. His sad eyes never left mine both of us drawing from strength each other.

**Then I glanced at Yeva again, and something about her eerie, knowing expression inexplicably spurred me on. I had to do this. I turned back to the others. "He fought really bravely in the battle, and afterward, he helped lead a rescue mission to save some people that the Strigoi had captured.**

**He was really amazing there, too, only... he..."**

**I stopped again and realized tears were running down my cheeks. In my mind, I was replaying that awful scene in the cave, with Dimitri so close to freedom and taken by a Strigoi at the last minute. Shaking that thought away, I took another deep breath. I had to finish this. I owed it to his family.**

**There was no gentle way to say it. "One of the Strigoi there... well, he overpowered Dimitri."**

**Karolina buried her face in her mother's shoulder, and Olena made no effort to hide her own tears. Viktoria wasn't crying, but her face had gone perfectly still. She was working hard to keep her emotions in check, just as Dimitri would have. She searched my face, needing to know for sure.**

**"Dimitri is dead," she said.**

Viktoria's voice was hollow. In my memory she'd said those words the same way then too.

**It was a statement, not a question, but she was looking to me for confirmation. I wondered if I'd given away something, some hint that there was still more to the story. Or maybe she just needed the certainty of those words. And for a moment, I considered telling them that Dimitri was dead.**

**It was what the Academy would tell them, what the guardians would tell them. It would be easier on them... but somehow, I couldn't stand to lie to them-even if it was a comforting lie. Dimitri would have wanted the whole truth, and his family would too.**

**"No," I said, and for a heartbeat, hope sprang up in everyone's faces-at least until I spoke again. "Dimitri's a Strigoi."**

We all sat in an uncomfortable silence. Running though the last few minutes in our heads. Dimitri leaned down and kissed me gently, "Thank you." He whispered when he pulled away slightly. I nodded, pulling back to find Paul standing in front of us were we sat. He climbed onto the couch and hugged Dimitri tightly. Then he hugged me. "It's okay Auntie and Uncle, everyone's better now." It brought a smile to everyone's face and I hugged Paul again, tighter. Dimitri hugged us both a second later. Soon, everyone (excluding my Mother, Father and Adrian) had us in a group hug.

Yeah, Everyone was better now, or at least starting to be.

_**A/N**_

_**Because I'm leaving this story, i want to answer all questions. Previously when I hinted (or tried to) that there was someone visiting Rose via spirit dream. I was working in Robert and the reveal of what Rose did to Victor. Of course thats not till the last book though. :P **_

_**Again, thank you for reading, I'm sorry I couldn't finish. **_


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